•  THE  KING  • 
iEWATER 


OF.  CALIF.  LIBRABY,  LOS  AKGELES 


THE  KING 
OVER  THE  WATER 

OR 

THE  MARRIAGE  OF  MR.  MELANCHOLY 


BY 
JUSTIN  HUNTLY  MCCARTHY 

AUTHOR  OF 

"THE  PROUD  PRINCE"  "SERAPHICA" 
"IF  I  WERE  KING"  ETC. 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

M  C  M  X  I 


COPYRIGHT.  1911.    BY   HARPER  Si   BROTHERS 

PRINTED  IN  THE    UNITED   STATES  OF  AMERICA 

PUBLISHED  APRIL.    1911 


DILECTISSIMAE    UXOR1 


2131125 


THE    KING    OVER   THE    WATER 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 


SOME    PAGES    OF   MEMORIES 

(There  are  some  pages  in  the  hand  of  write  of  Colonel 
Beamish  O 'Carroll  that  can  serve  aptly  for  prelude  of  what  is 
to  follow.  Colonel  O 'Carroll  held  his  command  in  Dillon's 
regiment  in  France  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and  at  one  time  he  seems  to  have  taken  it  into  his  head — 
like  many  another  man-at-arms — to  write  his  memoirs.  He 
does  not  seem  to  have  completed  his  purpose.  The  com- 
paratively few  sheets  of  paper  which  the  curious  student 
may  find  in  its  portfolio — No.  "jligXy — in  the  library  of 
the  Archives  in  Paris  are  for  the  most  part  disconnected, 
rambling  records,  apparently  hurriedly  jotted  down  to  serve 
as  notes  for  the  complete  work.  But  there  are  some  pages 
that  run  consecutively  and  deal  with  a  definite  event,  and 
these  pages  may  now  for  the  first  time  appear  in  print.) 

"T  REMEMBER  it  as  well  as  if  it  were  yesterday 
1  — though,  alas!   it  is  not  yesterday.     I  was  sit- 
ting in  the  parlor  of  the  inn  at  Scelestat,  leisurely 
drinking  my  bottle  of  wine — a  ripe,  red  wine  that 

I 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

I  favored  and  still  favor.  I  was  alone  in  the  inn 
parlor.  I  was  tilted  back  in  my  chair  against  the 
table,  the  heels  of  my  boots  rested  on  the  window- 
seat,  and  I  was  staring  out  through  the  tulip-pots  at 
the  sleepy  little  street.  I  remember  very  well  what 
I  was  thinking  of.  My  mind  was  moody  and  sullen, 
I  seemed  full  to  the  lips  of  bitter  reflections;  the  red 
wine  could  not  exorcise  my  black  thoughts. 

"  It  was  just  one  of  those  fits  that  come  to  a  man 
when  he  finds  that  he  is  no  longer  young  and  looks 
back  over  the  faded  years  and  discovers  little  pleas- 
ure in  the  perspective.  'What  was  the  good  of  it 
all  ?'  I  asked  myself,  fretfully.  The  very  wine  that 
I  sipped  tasted  sour  at  my  lips;  the  book  of  my  life 
offered  little  better  than  a  catalogue  of  calamities 
and  follies.  Here  I  sat,  a  melancholy  trooper  drift- 
ing along  in  years,  and  what  had  I  to  show  for  it  all, 
and  what  to  look  forward  to  ?  My  uniform  wore  a 
colonel's  epaulettes — that  summed  up  the  past;  as 
for  the  future  the  prospect  of  being  knocked  on  the 
head  in  some  scufHe  looked  to  be  the  most  probable 
solution  of  the  speculation.  Anyway,  it  seemed  to 
me  that  the  best  of  the  business  was  over,  and  that 
the  best  was  unsatisfactory  enough.  I  was  an  exile, 
a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  speaking  for  the  most 
part  an  alien  speech,  serving  a  foreign  flag.  I 
grumbled  as  I  drank,  and  it  was  a  waste  of  good 
liquor  to  use  it  in  such  a  fashion. 

"  Of  course  I  had  had  my  pleasures  and  liked  them 
at  the  time,  but  they  seemed  tasteless  in  the  recol- 


SOME    PAGES    OF    MEMORIES 

lection  to  my  discontented  spirit.  The  comrades, 
the  hard  knocks  taken  and  given,  the  marches,  the 
brawls,  the  gambling  and  the  drinking  and  the 
laughing,  the  drumming  and  the  fifing  and  the  fight- 
ing, all  the  things  that  go  to  make  up  a  soldier's  life 
and,  for  the  most  part,  that  content  or  should  con- 
tent a  soldier,  seemed  of  a  sudden  to  have  lost  their 
savor.  If  here  and  there  a  pretty  face  peeped  up  at 
me  out  of  my  memories,  if  I  recalled  roguish  lips 
that  had  given  and  taken  hearty  kisses,  the  thought 
of  them  only  served  to  swell  my  despondency. 

"  I  had  never  met  my  heart's  desire  nor,  as  I  sup- 
posed, ever  should.  I  had  loved  as  a  trooper  loves, 
here,  there,  and  everywhere,  with  never  a  heart- 
ache and  scarce  a  regret.  Now,  I  was  at  the  end  of 
my  tether,  so  I  assured  myself  dully;  the  game  was 
played,  the  money  paid,  nothing  left  to  look  for  but 
bed  and  sleep.  'My  loves  are  buried,'  said  I  to 
myself,  'my  adventures  ended,  romance  has  walked 
out  of  my  world  forever;  nothing  is  left  for  the  poor 
old  Put  but  bed  and  sleep.'  And,  as  I  remember, 
I  sighed  very  dismally  to  think  that  all  was  ended 
and  done  with,  and  just  as  I  sighed  the  door  of  the 
inn  parlor  opened,  and  creaked  in  opening.  At  all 
times  I  dislike  a  creaking  door,  but  just  then,  being 
steeped  in  my  distempered  broodings  and  vexed  at 
being  disturbed  in  them,  it  jarred  upon  me  amaz- 
ingly, and  so  I  turned  my  head  testily.  As  I  say, 
the  door  opened,  and  I  greeted  its  opening  with  a 
frown.  But  my  frown  instantly  faded  to  a  smile 

3 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

and  the  smile  brightened  to  a  salutation  of  a  familiar 
face,  a  face  very  unexpected  in  that  place  and  hour. 
It  was  the  face  of  my  very  near  and  dear  friend  and 
very  distant  kinsman,  my  close  comrade  and  ad- 
mired hero,  Charles  Wogan. 

"  I  have  always  loved  my  countrymen,  and  some 
of  them  have  given  the  French  king  as  fine  a  body 
of  fighting  fellows  as  ever  drew  a  sword  or  fired  a 
pistol.  But  of  them  all  there  never  stepped  a 
gallanter  gentleman  than  Charles  Wogan.  As  he 
stood  there,  framed  in  the  open  doorway,  in  his 
brightly  colored  habit,  with  his  right  hand  stretched 
out  in  greeting,  and  his  fine  face  smiling  upon  me, 
he  seemed  the 'very  pattern  of  a  soldier  and  a  man, 
and  my  heart  drummed  a  welcome.  My  black 
mood  seemed  to  fall  away  from  me  like  a  discarded 
cloak  at  the  sight  of  him,  and  I  was  out  of  my 
chair  and  holding  him  by  the  hand  before  he  had 
stepped  a  pace  into  the  room. 

"  If  I  was  glad  to  see  him,  he  seemed  to  the  full  as 
delighted  to  see  me.  He  returned  my  grasp  with 
a  wring  that  impressed  itself  even  upon  my  sea- 
soned wrist.  He  clapped  me  on  the  shoulder  with 
his  disengaged  left  hand  and  looked  me  in  the  eyes 
with  such  a  smiling  salutation  that  my  heavy,  lump- 
ish body  seemed  suddenly  to  wear  wings  for  sheer 
pleasure  at  the  meeting.  My  kinsman  began  to 
speak  before  I  had  time  to  utter  a  syllable,  and  the 
sound  of  his  voice  was  as  cheering  as  the  light  in 
his  eyes. 

4 


SOME    PAGES   OF   MEMORIES 

"  '  You  are  the  very  man  I  have  been  longing  to 
see,'  so  the  dear  gentleman  began.  'I  have  ridden 
hard  for  this  meeting,  and  as  I  serve  God,  I  think 
we  are  well  met.  When  I  found  you  were  not  at 
your  rooms,  I  was  in  a  rage,  but,  by  Heaven's  grace, 
I  fell  across  your  servant,  who  told  me  that  I  should 
be  most  likely  to  find  you  here  at  this  hour  of  the 
day.'  It  struck  me  that  it  was  no  small  liberty 
for  my  servant  to  speak  thus  freely  of  my  ways. 
A  gentleman  may  take  his  glass  in  his  inn  without 
becoming  the  subject  of  a  lackey's  gossip.  But 
still,  it  had  brought  my  friend  to  me,  and  that  was 
so  much  to  the  good,  for  me,  who  always  rejoiced 
to  see  him,  and  for  him,  too,  as  his  words  and  man- 
ner showed.  I  told  him  very  straightly  that  I  was 
heartily  glad  to  hold  his  hand  and  that  in  all  things 
I  was  at  his  service. 

"  *  Don't  be  so  rash,'  he  retorted,  with  a  rallying 
smile.  'Who  knows  but  I  may  have  a  favor  to 
ask  of  you  ?' 

"  I  knew  very  well  that  I  assured  him  with  the  heat 
of  a  great  fervor  that  I  was  always  his  in  all  things 
to  command.  Indeed,  it  was  a  way  with  Wogan 
to  command  men,  and  of  all  men,  to  command 
me,  for  all  that  I  was  his  elder  in  arms.  Though 
I  know  myself,  I  think,  as  well  as  the  Greek  sage — 
or  was  he  a  Roman  sage  ? — could  wish,  and  know 
myself  to  be  a  tetchy,  testy,  petulant,  peevish, 
plaguey,  fractious  fellow  when  my  ill  moods  are 
upon  me,  I  know  also  that  the  sunlight  of  a  friendly 

5 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

face,  and  the  music  of  a  friendly  voice,  can  always 
banish  my  black  vapors  and  make  me  ready  for 
anything.  In  this  instance  the  sunlight  of  a  friend- 
ly face  beamed  hotly,  for  I  loved  Charles  Wogan 
better  than  a  brother,  and  in  this  instance  the 
music  of  a  friendly  voice  pealed  with  a  special  in- 
sistence. For  I  knew  at  once  from  the  tone  of  the 
man's  voice  that  he  had  something  very  important 
to  say,  and  I  felt  in  the  very  core  of  my  heart  how 
great  a  compliment  it  was  that  he  had  chosen  to 
say  it  to  me. 

"  Charles  Wogan  seated  himself  at  my  table  and 
helped  himself  to  my  wine.  It  was  no  bad  drink- 
ing; it  could  have  been  better;  still  it  served;  but 
it  might  have  been  Hippocras  or  Hippocrene,  or 
whatever  the  name  of  the  antique  liquor  was,  for 
the  way  in  which  Wogan  savored  it  and  smiled  at 
me  over  the  lip  of  the  beaker.  In  truth,  he  was 
tired  enough  and  thirsty  enough  after  his  long 
journey  to  enjoy  a  coarser  vintage.  But  for  the 
moment  his  main  point,  as  I  learned  thereafter, 
was  to  please  me  to  his  purpose,  and  win  me  to 
his  will,  and  for  getting  on  the  soft  side  of  a  man, 
be  he  soldier  or  be  he  civilian,  what  better  way  is 
there  than  to  praise  his  tipple  and  to  drain  it  down 
with  an  air  of  relish  ?  My  dear  friend  was  ever  a 
delicate  drinker,  a  fop  with  the  flagon,  choosing 
rather  the  best  and  little  than  good  and  much  or 
middling  and  plenty.  But  he  sipped  my  red  wine 
with  a  satisfaction  that  transfused  itself  from  him 

6 


SOME    PAGES   OF    MEMORIES 

to  me,  so  that  I  seemed  to  taste  at  once  the  warmth 
of  the  wine  and  the  warmth  of  his  appreciation  of 
it.  Thus  I  was  primed  and  ready  to  oblige  him. 
He  sat  silent  for  a  while  as  he  sipped;  indeed,  he 
sat  silent  so  long — at  least  it  seemed  long  to  me  in 
my  impatience — that  at  last  I  broke  in  upon  his 
quiet. 

"'Well/  I  said,  'what's  in  the  wind  now?' 
And  I  filled  his  glass  again  as  I  asked  the  question. 

"  He  looked  up  at  me  with  a  new  light  of  laughter 
in  his  grave  gray  eyes.  'So  we  are  curious,'  he 
said.  'Yet  I  dare  swear  that  your  curiosity  does 
not  aim  so  high  as  my  secret.  If  I  sat  silent  so 
long,  it  was  for  thinking  what  a  business  I  was 
about,  and  what  a  need  I  have  for  a  good  turn 
from  my  old  friend  and  comrade.' 

"  As  he  spoke  he  leaned  over  across  the  table  and 
gripped  me  by  the  wrist.  He  had  fingers  that 
closed  like  a  claw  of  steel,  even  when  their  pressure 
was  friendly,  as  it  now  was.  The  smile  had  slipped 
from  his  face,  and  his  expression  was  all  earnest 
and  alert. 

"'My  dear  old  friend,'  he  said,  'loved  leader 
and  true  brother-in-arms* —  if  I  set  down  these 
phrases  it  is  because  he  used  them,  and  because 
for  all  that  I  was  an  old  soldier  they  made  me  red 
with  pleasure — 'this  business  is  not  my  business, 
but  king's  business.  You  may  have  heard  that  his 
Majesty  wishes  to  wed  ?' 

"Now,  it  was  matter  of  common  talk  all  over 

7 


THE    KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

Europe  that  his  sacred  Majesty  James  the  Third, 
King  of  England,  Scotland,  France,  and  Ireland, 
Defender  of  the  Faith,  was  most  anxious  to  form 
some  alliance  that  might  serve  him  well  against  the 
Hanoverian  usurper,  and  I  guessed  at  once  that 
Wogan's  business  was  of  this  kind.  So  I  just 
nodded  my  head,  and  Wogan  went  on  with  his  story. 

"'You  know  as  well  as  I  do,'  said  my  friend, 
'that  his  Majesty  has  had  no  more  troublesome 
adversary  in  his  attempts  to  regain  his  rightful 
crown  than  the  Empire.  So  it  came  into  his 
Majesty's  mind,  which  is  a  great  mind  and  a  won- 
derful, that  if  he  could  make  a  match  with  some 
princess  of  the  Empire  he  might  raise  himself  up 
a  party  in  Germany  that  would  serve  him  excel- 
lently well  against  our  bad  and  little-loved  cousin 
the  Elector.' 

"  I  nodded  acquiescence,  but  to  be  wholly  frank, 
I  was  hard  put  to  it  to  stifle  a  yawn.  All  these 
diplomacies,  these  chancellery  devices,  these  mar- 
riage schemes,  seemed  to  me  no  way  to  win  back  a 
throne.  Wogan  and  I  had  fought  in  the  Fifteen; 
Wogan  had  been  taken;  Wogan  had  only  saved  his 
neck  by  breaking  prison  from  Newgate.  We  had 
failed  in  the  Fifteen,  but  we  might  win  next  time 
in  the  brave  way  with  swords  drawn  and  standard 
flying,  not  with  intrigue  and  alliances.  So  I  began 
to  find  my  friend's  story  lacking  in  the  interest  I 
had  expected.  Which  only  showed  that  I  did  not 
the  man  as  well  as  I  thought  I  did, 


SOME    PAGES   OF   MEMORIES 

"Wogan  leaned  over  to  me,  and  as  if  fearful  that 
the  walls  of  the  inn  parlor  might  have  ears,  he  spoke 
in  a  low  voice  that  was  indeed  little  better  than  a 
whisper,  yet  that  was,  nevertheless,  as  clear  as  any 
bell.  He  told  me  a  state  secret,  the  secret  of  the 
King's  intended  marriage;  he  told  me  of  the  shame- 
ful treachery  which  strove  to  thwart  it,  and  I  lis- 
tened, aggrieved  and  indignant.  But  when  he  had 
come  to  the  end  of  this  part  of  his  tale,  leaving,  as 
it  seemed  to  me,  a  royal  plan  hopelessly  miscarried, 
he  began  again,  and  revealed  to  me  a  certain  pur- 
pose of  his  own,  which  all  the  world  knows  of  now, 
but  which  I  was  one  of  the  first  half-dozen  or  so — 
and  all  the  others  deep  in  the  King's  counsels — to 
receive  knowledge  of  at  that  time. 

"  For  the  moment  I  was  unmanned,  bewildered, 
taken  by  surprise,  what  you  will.  Wogan  had  al- 
ways seemed  to  me  such  a  man  as  the  Latin  poet 
would  have  praised — a  man  with  a  sound  mind  in 
a  sound  body — yet  here  he  was,  facing  me,  and 
babbling  of  enterprises  after  a  fashion  only  per- 
mitted to  lunatics  or  drunkards.  Yet  my  friend, 
as  he  sat  there  and  smiled,  was  to  all  seeming  sane, 
and  was  most  certainly  sober.  It  is  not  a  glass  or 
two  of  red  wine  that  can  upset  a  Wogan  of  Rath- 
coffy. 

"Wogan  himself,  leaning  back  in  his  tilted  chair, 
seemed  to  smile  at  my  surprise. 

"  *  Ods-fish,  man,'  he  said.  It  was  his  fantastic 
habit  at  times  to  assert  his  devotion  to  the  House 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

of  Stuart  by  helping  himself  to  the  favorite  oath  of 
his  late  sacred  Majesty  King  Charles  the  Second. 
'Ods-fish,  man,  one  would  think  that  you  had 
never  seen  a  sword  drawn  or  a  horse  ridden  that 
you  stare  so  when  a  friend  plans  a  pleasant  little 
enterprise.  It's  nothing  much  out  of  the  way  for 
some  Irish  soldiers  of  fortune  to  cheat  a  pair  of 
crowned  rascals,  and  if  it  were  the  wildest  game 
afoot,  I  am  going  to  play  it,  and,  with  God's  help, 
to  win  it.' 

"  I  knew  now  that  he  was  perfectly  serious,  and 
the  gravity  of  his  manner  drove  graveness  into  me 
as  a  nail  is  driven  in  with  a  hammer.  So  I  an- 
swered him  as  simply  as  if  he  had  been  proposing 
nothing  more  serious  than  a  round  of  bowls  or  a 
game  of  basset. 

'  'Go  on/  says  I,  quite  simply,  and  Wogan  went 
on  and  asked  what  he  had  come  to  ask,  which  was 
no  more  and  no  less  than  this — that  I  should  grant 
leave  of  absence  for  a  month,  and  no  questions 
asked,  to  three  gentlemen  that  were  officers  in  my 
regiment.  These  three  gentlemen  were  Major 
Richard  Gaydon,  Captain  Luke  O'Toole,  and 
Captain  John  Misset.  After  what  Wogan  had  told 
me,  the  request  did  not  surprise  me  very  much,  and 
as  to  asking  no  questions,  why,  there  was  no  need 
for  me  to  be  impertinently  inquisitive.  Sure  I  am 
as  good  as  another  at  putting  two  and  two  to- 
gether, and  I  guessed  well  enough  the  drift  of 
Wogan's  dare-devil  intentions.  So  I  gave  my 

10 


SOME    PAGES   OF    MEMORIES 

promise  readily  enough,  while  I  sent  up  a  silent 
prayer  that  my  three  blades  might  come  back  to 
me  in  safety.  For  they  made  a  trey  of  amazing 
fine  fellows,  prides  of  a  regiment,  not  to  be  will- 
ingly or  lightly  missed  from  a  muster.  And  be- 
cause they  are  now  so  famous — *Roman  Senators  no 
less — I  do  not  think  it  amiss  to  set  down  some- 
thing here  as  to  their  qualities  and  their  natures, 
for  the  benefit  of  future  days,  that  will,  as  I  hope 
and  believe,  always  take  an  interest  in  the  per- 
sonalities of  heroes.  And  if  ever  there  were  heroes 
in  this  world  my  friends  Gaydon,  O'Toole,  and 
Misset  were  very  surely  of  their  fellowship. 

"Major  Gaydon  was  a  shrewd,  experienced  soldier 
that  had  seen  so  much  service  as  to  deserve  the 
appellation  of  veteran,  though,  indeed,  he  looked 
and  carried  himself  as  brisk  as  the  best.  He  had 
a  keen,  hard-bitten  face,  was  for  the  most  part  of 
taciturn  disposition,  but  when  he  chose  to  speak 
could  employ  a  dry  and  caustic  humor  of  his  own 
to  considerable  advantage.  He  was  of  the  cautious 
rather  than  the  reckless  kind — these  being  the  two 
main  ways  in  which  the  measure  of  soldiers  must 
be  taken — and  one  that  liked  to  know  pretty  clearly 
where  he  was  going,  and  to  be  mighty  sure  of  his 
footing  on  the  way.  But  he  was  as  brave  as  any 
man  I  ever  knew,  and  for  all  that  he  was  neither 
reckless  nor  dashing  there  was  scarcely  a  man  in 
the  world  that  I  would  have  sooner  had  by  my 
side  if  I  were  in  a  tight  place.  He  liked  his  glass, 
2  n 


THE   KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

and  he  liked  his  pipe,  but  he  liked  both  with 
temperance  and  moderation;  and  as  for  women,  I 
know  nothing  about  his  whims  or  his  ways  con- 
cerning them.  I  do  not  think  that  he  had  ever 
married,  and  I  never  heard  his  name  tied  up  in 
the  tangle  of  a  love-tale.  He  kept  himself  very 
much  to  himself,  the  good  Gaydon,  and  never  in 
his  merriest  moods  was  tempted  to  talk  much  about 
himself  and  his  affairs.  In  the  which  reticence  he 
differed  very  patently  from  Luke  O'Toole.  In- 
deed, I  may  say  that  at  all  points  the  two  men 
might  have  been  pitted  one  against  the  other  as 
examples  of  the  astonishing  contrasts  that  the  mili- 
tary life  can  produce.  The  popular  idea  of  the 
soldier,  and  more  especially  the  soldier  of  fortune, 
such  as  the  Irish  exile  must  needs  be  called  who 
serves  under  a  foreign  flag  when  he  would  fain  be 
serving  under  another — the  popular  idea  of  such  an 
one,  I  say,  is  a  roaring  boy  that  rollicks  his  way  from 
canteen  to  battlefield,  is  seldom  sober,  and  forever 
kissing  the  wenches.  If  you  drew  Major  Gaydon  out 
of  his  uniform  and  stuck  him  into  the  clothes  of  a 
workaday  civilian  citizen  you  would  probably  take 
him  for  a  shrewd  fellow  in  business,  one  that  meant 
what  he  said  and  did  what  he  meant,  and  was  to 
be  reckoned  with  pretty  seriously.  There  are 
many  soldiers  of  Richard  Gaydon's  kidney,  and  it 
is  well  for  the  armies  they  serve  that  the  thing  is  so. 
But  the  jolly  devil-may-cares  flourish  too,  and  Luke 
O'Toole  was  one  of  the  best  and  the  merriest  of  them. 

12 


SOME    PAGES    OF    MEMORIES 

"  O'Toole  was  one  of  the  finest  men  and  one  of 
the  finest  fellows  that  ever  had  served  the  Lilies. 
He  measured  nearly  three  inches  more  than  six 
feet,  but  nature  had  shaped  him  all  ways  in  such 
perfect  proportion  that  he  did  not  at  the  first  glance 
convey  the  sense  of  his  full  height,  and  it  was  not 
until  you  saw  him  in  immediate  association  with 
some  comrade  common  tall  that  you  realized  the 
fact  that  O'Toole  was  more  than  common  tall.  It 
is  a  familiar  saying — though  it  is  not  borne  out  by 
the  nursery  tales — that  giants  are  generally  good- 
natured.  The  saw  was  indeed  a  truth  in  O'Toole's 
case,  for  I  never  met  with  any  man  of  a  more 
affable  carriage,  genial  humor,  and  jolly  bearing 
than  he.  He  had  an  almost  unbreakable  belief  in 
the  courage  of  men  and  the  simplicity  of  women. 
His  large,  honest  face  was  ever  aglow  with  good 
spirits,  and  if  his  curly  red  locks  did  not  cover  a 
head  that  would  have  served  the  turn  of  a  states- 
man, at  least  it  contrasted  very  pleasantly  with  the 
brightest  and  bravest  blue  eyes  in  the  world. 

"  His  failing,  if  I  may  say  so,  lay  in  this,  that  he 
was  not  overmodest  about  his  qualities.  He  had 
a  high  opinion  of  his  thick  wits,  at  which  some 
were  inclined  to  laugh;  of  his  thick  arms,  which 
made  the  would-be  laughers  wary;  of  his  horse- 
manship; above  all,  of  his  swordsmanship.  For 
all  this,  to  know  O'Toole  was  to  love  him.  Indeed, 
Wogan  was  often  pleased  to  bring  him  forward  as 
an  example  of  what  Heaven  had  meant  man  to  be 

'J 


before  sophistication  had  undone  him  with  pens 
and  inks  and  its  printed  pages  and  its  subtleties 
about  the  why  of  this  and  the  wherefore  of  that, 
just  a  great,  strong,  healthy,  honest  man,  not  a 
savage  lurking  in  caves  and  dashing  in  the  skull  of 
his  fellow  with  a  thigh-bone  picked  from  his  last 
meal,  but  a  soldier,  upright,  gallant,  loyal,  credulous, 
swaggering,  bragging,  confident  in  his  own  honor 
and  the  honor  of  all  human  souls. 

"  O'Toole  came  of  a  line  that  boasted  an  aston- 
ishing antiquity.  One  of  the  house,  not  very  early 
in  its  annals,  had  played  an  amazing  part  in  the 
Trojan  wars  and  was  reported  to  have  been  called 
by  Helen  the  handsomest  man  she  had  ever  be- 
held, which  must  have  been  a  rude  jar  for  Paris, 
the  son  of  Priam.  Another  had  served  under 
Alexander,  and  came  nigh  to  meeting  his  death  at 
the  hands  of  a  monarch  jealous  of  his  superior 
gifts,  but,  being  warned  in  time  by  the  beautiful 
Thais,  who  had  conceived  a  passion  for  the  blithe 
islander,  made  his  escape  and  reigned  for  some 
time  in  India  before  returning  to  Erin.  A  third, 
it  was  asserted,  sat  for  a  season  firmly  enough  on 
the  contested  throne  of  the  late  Caesars.  It  cer- 
tainly was  not  surprising  that  O'Toole  should  be 
proud  of  his  lineage.  Nor  was  it  surprising  that 
with  the  consciousness  of  such  an  ancestry — for 
the  dear  boy  believed  every  word  of  the  blessed 
rigmarole  —  he  should  conceive  it  his  duty  not 
merely  to  live  up  to,  but  if  it  might  be  to  surpass, 


SOME   PAGES   OF   MEMORIES 

the  character  and  the  deeds  of  his  amazing  fore- 
bears. Thus  there  never  was  adventure  so  ex- 
travagant but  that  Luke  O'Toole  would  undertake 
it  cheerfully,  serenely  confident  that  if  he  under- 
took it  it  must  needs  be  carried  to  a  magnificently 
triumphant  conclusion.  Nor  was  he  ever  unde- 
ceived or  dispirited  by  the  occasional  failures, 
whether  in  arms,  or  in  love,  or  at  play,  which  fell 
to  his  lot,  as  they  must  fall  to  the  lot  even  of  an 
Irish  gentleman  and  soldier.  When  it  pleased  fort- 
une to  deal  him  one  of  these  rebuffs  he  accepted 
it  with  an  honest  astonishment,  had  the  native  sense 
to  say  no  more  about  it,  and,  as  I  verily  believe, 
very  soon  forgot  that  any  such  cross  had  been 
marked  upon  his  course  of  glory.  Bless  his  heart! 
he  was  a  wonderfully  good  fellow. 

"  Misset  was  a  very  different  man  from  his  two 
comrades.  For  Misset  was  a  student;  Misset  was 
a  scholar,  or,  at  least,  so  he  looked  to  those  of  us 
who  had  no  great  tincture  of  letters.  He  seemed  to 
me  as  if  he  had  drifted  by  some  strange  chance  from 
the  cool  quadrangles  and  gray  cloisters  of  some 
ancient  and  honorable  university  into  the  bustle 
and  clatter  and  rattle  of  barrack  and  bivouac. 
Not  that  he  lacked  anything  of  the  many  arts  that 
a  soldier  must  needs  know.  He  could  handle  his 
sword  as  well  as  any  man  in  Dillon's  command, 
and  as  for  the  pistol,  he  was  the  surest  shot  I  have 
ever  known,  my  uncle  Cornelius  not  excepted,  who 
was  the  terror  of  Galway  in  his  time.  But  what  he 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

took  most  pleasure  in  was  the  reading  of  love- 
verses,  and  next  to  that  the  writing  of  love-verses; 
and,  indeed,  he  accomplished  this  often  very  well, 
and  had  a  pretty  skill  in  the  turning  of  a  brace  of 
rhymes.  Nature  had  made  him  for  a  lover,  a  man 
to  love  and  be  loved  by  many  ladies,  and  he  would 
probably  have  wooed  and  won  and  loved  and 
ridden  away  time  after  time  if  he  had  not  chanced 
to  woo  and  to  win  the  woman  who  was  now  Mis- 
tress Misset. 

"  That  ended  the  shifting  game  for  him.  He  re- 
mained a  lover  just  the  same,  but  his  love  was  all 
for  one  woman,  and  that  woman  was  his  wife.  I 
know  that  it  amazed  some  of  us  who  knew  his  in- 
flammable fancy  to  find  that  he  proved  such  a  pink 
of  husbands.  But,  indeed,  the  world  at  its  best  of 
times  has  not  many  women  so  sweet  and  good  and 
fair  as  Mistress  Misset,  and  the  man  would  have 
been  but  a  poor  rogue  who,  being  so  graced  as  to 
share  her  life,  could  think  of  any  woman's  lips  or 
eyes  thereafter.  All  the  elements  of  love  in  him 
that  had  darted  hither  and  thither  in  little  tongues 
of  fire  now  burned  in  one  clear,  steady  flame  on  the 
altar  of  his  affection  for  her.  And,  indeed,  if  he 
was  happy  in  so  rare  a  wife,  she  in  her  turn  was 
happy  in  so  rare  a  lover.  He  was  not  a  man  that 
was  always  tied  to  his  wife's  petticoat  tail,  and 
soldiers  did  not  lose  a  good  comrade  because  Mis- 
tress Misset  had  found  a  good  husband.  But  he 
was  best  pleased  with  his  life  when  it  was  passed 

16 


SOME    PAGES    OF    MEMORIES 

in  her  company,  and  when  he  was  away  from  her 
I  guessed  that  she  was  always  in  his  thoughts. 

"  I  knew  very  well,  considering  Misset,  that  the 
risk  to  be  run  by  himself  would  not  of  old  time 
have  weighed  one  jot  with  him.  But  now  he  was 
married  and  much  in  love  with  his  wife,  and  love 
and  marriage  must  make  a  difference  even  to  the 
bravest,  which  is  why  I  hold  that  it  is  well  for  a 
soldier  to  be  celibate.  When  a  soldier  is  married 
his  life  is  no  longer  wholly  his  own  to  throw  away 
for  an  orange  if  it  please  him.  There  is  always  the 
exquisite  she  to  be  considered,  and  though  I  knew 
that  Misset  would  charge  a  battery  at  command 
with  unaltered  courage  and  composure,  here  was 
Wogan  wanting  to  implicate  him  in  an  adventure 
which,  after  all,  was  none  of  his  ordered  business, 
but  something  quite  over  and  above  what  duty  and 
what  honor  demanded  of  him.  And  not  only  was 
Wogan  desiring  him  to  hazard  his  life  upon  what 
might  very  well  have  looked  like  a  fool's  errand, 
but  he  was  practically  going  to  ask  him  to  risk  the 
life  of  the  thing  that  was  dearest  to  him  in  all  the 
world,  the  woman  he  loved,  the  woman  who  loved 
him,  -the  wife  of  his  heart.  I  thought  of  all  this 
swiftly,  and  for  the  moment  I  could  not  be  sure 
whether  I  should  be  more  vexed  if  Misset  did  re- 
fuse, as  he  might  very  well  refuse,  or  if  he  con- 
sented and  put  one  of  the  sweetest  faces  in  Europe 
in  jeopardy. 

"  Mistress  Misset  had  her  lodgings  over  an  apoth- 

'7 


ecary's  shop  in  one  of  the  pleasantest  streets  in  our 
garrison  town,  and,  indeed,  her  habitation  was  as 
pleasant  as  the  street.  Her  windows,  which  were 
on  the  first  floor,  looked  out  upon  the  trees  that 
lined  both  sides  of  the  way,  and  at  this  season  of 
the  year  they  were  very  green  and  leafy  and  very 
busy  and  brisk  with  the  coming  and  going  of  in- 
numerable birds.  From  the  apothecary's  below 
there  always  ascended  a  faint  and  grateful  perfume 
of  the  sweet  waters,  essences,  scents,  and  unguents 
he  compounded,  and  for  which  Mistress  Misset 
was  one  of  his  best,  as  she  was  the  nearest,  of  his 
patrons.  There  were  always  flowers  in  her  apart- 
ments, making  them  gay  with  their  color  and  odor, 
and,  indeed,  the  whple  place  seemed  to  wear  that 
air  of  home  and  of  a  settled  habitation  which  is  as 
pleasing  as  it  is  strange  to  the  soldier. 

"  I  was  always  glad  to  spend  an  evening  there 
when  my  leisure  permitted  it,  and,  indeed,  I  believe 
I  was  always  welcome,  for  Misset  and  I  were  as 
good  friends  as  if  we  had  been  brothers,  and  Mrs. 
Misset  loved  any  man  that  loved  her  lord.  It 
was  very  good  and  very  restful  to  sit  in  that  quiet 
room  of  a  summer  evening,  Misset  and  I  by  the 
open  windows  smoking  our  pipes  as  gentlemen 
should — for  the  dear  woman  would  have  her  hus- 
band smoke  at  home  that  he  might  not  sigh  to 
smoke  abroad — and  she  at  her  spinet.  Her  hands 
were  very  white,  for  she  had  an  exceeding  care  of 
her  person,  and  the  apothecary  belowstairs  vended 

18 


SOME   PAGES   OF    MEMORIES 

an  excellent  compost  of  almonds,  and  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  see  them  rise  and  flutter  and  fall  over 
the  jacks  while  her  smooth,  young  voice,  low  and 
fresh  and  tuneful,  breathed  some  tender  ballad 
that  told  of  the  home  we  should  know  no  more  and 
of  the  peace  that  was  not  for  us.  Oh  no,  I  was  not 
in  love  with  Mistress  Misset,  save  in  that  honorable 
way  in  which  an  honest  man  must  love  all  good 
women;  but  if  I  had  chanced  to  meet  her  before 
she  clapped  eyes  on  Misset  I. have  very  little  doubt 
that  I  should  have  made  an  exemplary  fool  of 
myself.  Yet  I  dare  swear  that  I  should  have 
made  a  good  husband,  too,  if  only  some  woman 
like  Mistress  Misset  had  been  wise  enough  and  kind 
enough  to  perceive  it,  albeit  I  had  not  the  command 
of  the  graces  like  Misset,  and  could  not  write  a  pair 
of  rhymes  if  the  alternative  were  the  gallows. 

"  Mistress  Misset  had  a  cousin,  Jane  Gordon  by 
name,  that  lived  with  her  to  keep  her  company  while 
her  husband  was  away.  This  girl  was  a  very  comely 
wench,  with  fair  hair  and  blue  eyes  and  the  most 
strange,  still-set,  mask-like  face  that  ever  I  beheld 
upon  so  young  a  woman.  Not  that  she  was  at  all 
of  an  unchangeful  or  unwomanly  temper.  She 
could  laugh  and  she  could  cry — I  have  seen  her  do 
both  many  a  time — and  she  could  be  cheerful  or 
sullen — and  I  had  tasted  of  her  quality  in  both  fits 
often  enough — but  for  the  most  part  her  face  was 
cast  in  a  gravity  that  did  but  heighten  her  charms. 
Folk  disputed  over  her,  some  going  so  far  as  to 

'9 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

say  that  she  was  beautiful,  while  others  would  have 
it  that  she  was  not  even  ordinarily  good-looking; 
and  sometimes  we  would  debate  this  point  before 
her  for  sport  or  banter,  and  then,  though  she  was 
not  in  the  least  put  out  at  our  play,  she  would  blush 
the  rosiest  red  that  I  ever  saw,  until  her  face  and 
neck  were  as  pink  as  a  poppy. 

"  But  as  for  Luke  O'Toole,  he  always  compli- 
mented her  upon  her  comeliness  boisterously,  with 
florid,  uncouth  compliments.  They  were  good 
enough  friends,  those  two,  when  they  met,  and  the 
girl  was  always  ready,  after  some  bout  of  his 
awkward  eloquence,  to  banter  him  back  with  some 
jest  about  the  bigness  of  his  body  and  the  small- 
ness  of  his  wit.  But  I  thought  then,  and  indeed 
think  now,  that  Charles  Wogan  was  the  king  of 
men  for  her  at  that  time. 

"  If  I  have  permitted  myself  to  speak  with  so 
much  freedom  of  these  dear  women,  it  is  because,  for 
all  that  they  were  private  ladies,  very  domestic  and 
unsolicitous  of  the  world's  eye,  it  came  about,  as 
every  one  knows,  that  they  had  to  take  their  share 
— and  that  a  large  one— in  this  business  of  Wogan's. 
The  world  is  familiar  with  their  names  and  their 
daring;  they  proved  as  good  lieutenants  to  my 
friend  in  his  enterprise  as  any  of  the  stalwart  gentle- 
men that  held  their  swords  and  their  lives  at  his 
service.  After  all,  it  is  no  great  marvel  for  one 
soldier  to  do  another  soldier  a  good  turn  in  a  cause 
that  is  his  King's  cause.  But  when  you  find  ten- 

20 


SOME   PAGES   OF   MEMORIES 

der,  delicately  nurtured  women  give  themselves  to 
the  adventure  with  such  zeal,  why,  I  think  you  have 
some  cause  for  astonishment  and  applause. 

"  The  upshot  of  the  matter  was,  of  course,  that  I 
did  as  Charles  Wogan  wished.  I  wrote  out  three 
separate  letters  granting  leave  of  absence  for  a 
month  to  Major  Richard  Gaydon,  Captain  Luke 
O'Toole,  and  Captain  John  Misset — and  I  did  this 
with  cheerfulness  and  alacrity,  although  I  was  well 
aware  that  at  headquarters  there  was  a  very  great 
unwillingness  to  grant  leave  to  Irish  officers  in  the 
service  of  France  during  those  troublous  times. 
I  gave  the  letters  into  Wogan's  charge,  and  he 
pocketed  them  joyously.  He  had  his  reasons,  he 
explained,  for  not  visiting  his  friends  there  and 
then,  for  all  he  was  in  the  same  town  with  them. 
His  doing  so  might  arouse  suspicion,  he  declared; 
he  had  his  plans  to  mature;  he  would  make  a 
rendezvous  in  his  own  good  time  and  at  his  own 
good  place.  And  so  with  many  thanks  and  hand- 
grasps,  that  more  than  repaid  me  for  any  pricks  of 
conscience  as  to  the  informality  of  my  compliance, 
the  dear  gentleman  took  his  leave  of  me.  I  wished 
him  good  luck  and  God-speed.  'He  was  going,' 
I  said;  and  the  good  fellow  was  pleased  to  laugh 
at  my  little  witticism;  'he  was  going  to  make  a 
hole  in  the  moon.' ' 

(Thus  far  Colonel  O'Carroll  in  his  memoirs,  but  no 
farther.  If  he  wrote  more  on  Wogan  and  his  companions, 

21 


that  staggering  quadrilateral,  what  he  wrote  has  perished,  to 
our  regret.  Very  possibly  he  wrote  no  more,  being  un- 
familiar with  the  pen.  His  omission  can  be  and  has  been 
supplied  by  many  precious  papers  familiar  to  students  of 
history.  One  source — shall  we  say  of  information — has 
been  either  accidentally  or  deliberately  overlooked.  There 
exists  in  the  archives  of  the  Abbey  of  Bonne  Aventure  in 
Poitou,  in  that  section  which  owes  its  existence  to  the  bequest 
of  the  illustrious  and  learned  Dom  Gregory,  and  which  is 
adding  yearly  to  its  riches,  a  manuscript  which  professes  to 
set  forth  the  true  story  of  the  adventure  of  Clementina  and 
her  rescuer,  Charles  Wogan.  The  fact  that  it  differs  in 
many  important  particulars  from  the  accepted  versions  of 
the  episode  should  only  render  it  the  more  interesting  to  the 
curious  and  the  more  undeserving  of  neglect.  It  may  be,  as 
Von  Hammerkopf  insists,  no  more  than  a  forgery  and  a 
fiction,  but  if  only  for  the  sake  of  its  rarity,  its  authority  has 
been  scrupulously  accepted  in  the  narrative  which  here 
follows.) 


II 


THE  "BLUE  MOON" 


THE  inn  of  the  "  Blue  Moon"  at  Strasbourgh  stood 
in  a  by-street  in  a  quiet  part  of  the  town.  It 
did  not  count  among  the  most  fashionable  hostelries 
of  the  place,  but  it  had  a  following  of  its  own  and 
throve.  Those  that  knew  it,  liked  it,  and  passed 
often  through  its  unpretentious  archway  into  the 
old-fashioned  courtyard  with  its  encircling  gallery. 
If  the  exterior  of  the  "  Blue  Moon"  was  modest  and 
retiring,  if  its  interior  was  old-fashioned  and  un- 
assuming, it  commanded  a  well -stocked  cellar 
and  boasted  an  inherited  tradition  of  excellent 
cookery.  Such  of  the  better  class  of  travellers  as 
came  to  it,  driven  it  may  be  by  failure  to  find  ac- 
commodation within  the  walls  of  its  more  garish 
and  ostentatious  rivals,  never  had  cause  to  regret 
their  unexpected  lodgings.  But  the  "Blue  Moon" 
lived  principally  upon  humbler  patronge  than  the 
favor  of  the  great  and  the  well-to-do.  It  had  its 
own  little  school  of  clients  in  the  town,  and  a  steady 
flow  of  commercial  visitors  from  all  parts  of  Europe 
who  would  not  have  been  welcomed  at  the  lordlier 
inns  where  the  great  gentlefolk  put  up,  but  who 

23 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

were  cordially  greeted  at  the  "Blue  Moon,"  and 
made  very  comfortable  and  snug  at  moderate 
charges. 

On  a  certain  day  of  early  spring  in  the  year  1719 
the  landlord  of  the  "Blue  Moon"  was  busy  in  his 
common-room  putting  things  to  rights.  An  ordi- 
nary observer  would  have  thought  that  everything 
was  pretty  right  as  it  stood,  but  the  landlord,  that 
was  an  old  soldier  and  passionately  orderly,  was 
not  easily  to  be  contented.  His  pewter  glowed 
with  a  nobler  sheen  than  silver;  his  silver — for  he 
had  some  store  of  that,  too — glittered  brightly 
enough  to  make  a  spectator  wink;  his  glass  was  as 
clear  as  a  stream,  and  his  napery  was  as  white  as 
swan's-down.  The  landlord  was  free  to  amuse 
himself  in  his  taste  for  tidiness,  for  he  had  no  com- 
pany that  morning  to  disturb  him.  There  was  an 
apparent  reason  for  his  loneliness,  for  the  weather 
was  raw  and  inclement  for  travelling;  but  there 
was  another  reason,  known  to  the  landlord,  which 
permitted  him  to  feel  no  regret  at  the  absence  of 
custom.  This  was  the  fact  that  the  majority  of 
his  rooms  had  been  engaged  for  that  day  by  a 
patron  whom  the  landlord,  in  his  quality  of  old 
soldier,  was  always  eager  to  please. 

So  he  flitted  from  one  part  of  the  room  to  an- 
other, altering  the  poise  of  a  pewer  charger  or 
beaker  here,  shifting  a  silver  bowl  or  goblet  there, 
or  enumerating  with  infinite  satisfaction  the  piles 
of  linen  stored  in  the  oaken  cupboard.  Because  of 

24 


THE    "BLUE   MOON" 

the  sharpness  of  the  weather  a  brisk  fire  burned  on 
the  hearth,  in  front  of  which  the  huge,  high-backed 
settle  was  drawn  at  a  comfortable  angle.  The  land- 
lord paused  in  his  labors  to  survey  the  engaging 
scene  and  to  wish  that  he  had  some  one  with  him 
to  share  his  admiration.  Curiously  enough,  the 
wish  was  scarcely  formed  before  it  was  gratified. 

There  was  a  pounding  of  hoofs  and  a  grinding  of 
wheels  in  the  courtyard,  and  the  landlord  hurried 
with  all  speed  to  the  portal  to  welcome  the  arrivals. 
These  proved  to  be  a  gentleman  accompanied  by 
two  ladies,  who  were  descending  from  their  car- 
riage as  the  landlord  appeared.  The  gentleman 
was  tall  and  dark,  with  a  handsome,  alert  face, 
whose  manliness  was  in  no  ways  marred  by  a  cer- 
tain pensive  expression  that  became  him.  He 
wore  the  uniform  of  Dillon's  regiment,  a  uniform 
that  promptly  brought  the  landlord's  hand  to  his 
head  in  salutation.  The  two  ladies  who  accom- 
panied the  soldier  were  both  young  and  both  ex- 
tremely comely.  She  that  seemed  to  be  slightly 
the  elder  of  the  pair  clung  to  her  male  companion's 
arm  with  an  air  of  tender  dependence  that  was 
pleasing  to  behold,  but  the  other  moved  with  a  car- 
riage of  independence  that  betokened  a  high  spirit. 

The  new-comers  were  promptly  ushered  into  the 
common-room  by  the  landlord.  There  the  ladies 
seated  themselves,  the  one  with  an  air  of  languor 
that  showed  how  she  welcomed  the  prospect  of  re- 
pose; the  other  with  a  manner  that  seemed  to  sug- 

25 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

gest  that  if  she  sat  down  at  all,  it  was  rather  to 
please  her  friends  than  from  any  personal  sense  of 
fatigue.  The  military  gentleman  immediately  in- 
terrogated the  landlord. 

"Have  you,"  he  asked,  "a  room  where  these 
ladies  can  rest  after  the  fatigue  of  their  journey  ?" 

The  landlord  was  amiably  certain  that  he  could 
oblige  so  far.  The  languid  lady  yawned  prettily, 
lifting  a  dainty  hand  to  a  dainty  mouth,  and  pro- 
tested that  she  was  very  tired. 

"Small  wonder,"  the  other  girl  commented, 
"jogging  about  the  world  at  this  hour  of  the 
morning." 

She  rose  as  she  spoke,  and,  placing  herself  in 
front  of  a  mirror,  surveyed  her  reflection  disap- 
provingly for  a  few  silent  seconds.  Then  she  spoke 
again,  fretfully: 

"I  vow,"  she  protested,  "that  I  shall  look  a 
fright  for  the  rest  of  the  day." 

The  soldier  gallantly  assured  her  that  she  was 
mistaken,  and  as  the  languid  lady  had  now  risen 
to  her  feet,  and  a  maid-servant  had  appeared  to 
guide  the  ladies  to  their  room,  the  young  lady  con- 
sented to  abandon  the  attractions  of  the  mirror, 
and,  after  giving  the  support  of  her  encircling  arm 
to  the  other  woman,  to  follow  the  maid  from  the 
room. 

When  the  ladies  had  gone  the  soldier  seated  him- 
self on  the  settle,  stretched  his  legs  to  the  fire,  and 
again  addressed  the  landlord. 

26 


THE   "BLUE   MOON" 

"Bring  me  a  flask  of  Hermitage,"  he  ordered, 
and  then  added,  as  if  remembering:  "The  Green 
Seal." 

The  landlord  smiled  appreciation.  "Your  honor 
calls  for  good  wine,"  he  said,  slyly. 

The  stranger  smiled  in  his  turn,  and  his  smile 
was  as  pleasant  as  his  speech.  "I  am  glad  to  hear 
it,"  he  said. 

The  landlord  left  the  room  to  execute  his 
guest's  command,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  gone 
the  guest  drew  a  letter  from  his  pocket  addressed 
to  Captain  Misset,  of  Dillon's  regiment,  and  read 
it  over  softly  to  himself.  "Be  at  the  'Blue  Moon' 
Inn  at  Strasbourgh,"  he  murmured,  "at  noon  on 
Monday.  Bring  Mistress  Misset  and  Jane  with 
you.  Order  a  bottle  of  Hermitage  —  the  Green 
Seal — and  you  will  get  good  drinking. — C.  W." 

Misset  repeated  the  signatory  initials  and  inter- 
preted them:  "Charles  Wogan."  He  folded  up 
the  letter  again  and  returned  it  to  his  pocket. 
Then  he  leaned  forward,  whistling  softly  to  him- 
self and  extending  his  fine,  white  hands  to  the 
cheerful  blaze.  Presently  the  landlord  came  into 
the  room  bearing  an  ancient-looking  flask,  which 
he  dusted  and  drew  with  an  air  of  reverent 
care. 

As  he  slowly  filled  a  glass  with  the  crimson  fluid 
he  spoke.  "There  is  only  one  man  in  the  world," 
he  said,  "that  can  have  told  you  to  ask  for  this 
wine." 

3  27 


THE   KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

Misset  looked  up  at  him.  "Indeed!"  he  said. 
"Who  is  the  one  man?" 

The  landlord  looked  wise.  "If  your  honor 
would  be  discreet,  I  am  discretion,"  he  said,  quietly. 

As  Misset  showed  no  sign  of  desiring  to  continue 
the  conversation,  the  landlord  turned  aside  and 
busied  himself  with  his  interrupted  task  of  trifling 
with  his  silver  and  his  pewter. 

Misset  lifted  his  glass  to  his  lips  with  a  look  of 
curious  expectation,  sipped  with  the  due  caution 
of  a  connoisseur,  smiled  a  lively  appreciation,  and 
swiftly  drained  the  glass.  Then  he  filled  another, 
and,  lolling  comfortably  in  a  corner  of  the  settle, 
enjoyed  the  blended  pleasures  of  the  warm  fire 
without,  while  he  indulged  in  such  reflections  as 
come  to  the  wise  when  they  taste  good  liquor. 

Presently,  however,  his  quiet  was  invaded  by  a 
fresh  claimant  upon  the  hospitality  of  the  "Blue 
Moon."  The  new-comer,  oddly  enough,  was  habited 
like  his  predecessor  in  the  uniform  of  Dillon's  regi- 
ment. Misset,  comfortably  ensconced  in  his  corner, 
could  not  see  the  new  arrival  without  moving,  and 
having  no  desire  to  move,  and  little  curiosity,  re- 
mained as  he  was.  Had  he  moved  he  would  have 
seen  a  man  of  middle  age,  erect,  authoritative,  and 
precise.  The  new  arrival  did  not  see  his  prede- 
cessor, but  called  to  the  landlord,  who  promptly 
saluted. 

The  new-comer  gave  his  order:  "Serve  me  a 
flask  of  Hermitage  —  Green  Seal,"  he  said,  per- 

28 


THE    "BLUE   MOON" 

emptorily,  and  the  nature  of  the  words  and  the 
sound  of  the  voice  that  uttered  them  roused  the 
drowsing  attention  of  Misset.  He  rose  to  his  feet 
and  skipped  from  the  shelter  of  the  settle,  crying: 

"The  devil!  the  devil!     Gay  don,  by  the  Holy!" 

Gaydon  turned  to  face  his  appellant,  and,  in- 
stantly recognizing  him,  shouted  his  name  in  aston- 
ishment. "Misset!  Himself,  no  less!" 

Misset  answered,  wringing  his  friend's  hand: 
"What  in  the  world  brings  you  here  to  the  *  Blue 
Moon '  and  makes  you  thirst  to  drink  Green  Seal 
Hermitage  ?" 

Gaydon  looked  at  Misset  with  a  shrewd  smile. 
"Sure  the  cleverest  devil  that  ever  was  fathered  in 
County  Kildare,"  he  answered.  "Let  me  read  you 
a  letter."  As  he  spoke  he  took  a  letter  from  his 
pocket  that  was  in  its  tenor  and  scripture  well- 
nigh  the  very  fellow  of  the  letter  at  that  moment  in 
Misset's  possession,  and  read  it  out  to  him:  "  *  Be 
at  the  "  Blue  Moon  "  Inn  at  Strasbourgh  at  noon 
on  Monday  week — ' ' 

Misset  interrupted  him,  continuing  on  the  lines 
of  his  own  letter:  "  *  Bring  Mistress  Misset  and 
Jane  with  you,' "  he  quoted. 

Gaydon  stared  at  him.  "  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he 
said,  astonished. 

Misset  realized  his  mistake.  "No,"  he  corrected, 
hastily.  "Of  course  you  would  not  have  that.  I 
mean,  'Order  a  bottle  of  Hermitage,  the  Green 
Seal/" 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

"'Order  a  bottle  of  Hermitage,  the  Green  Seal/  ' 
Gaydon  echoed;  then  continuing,  he  added,  "'and 
you  will  get  good  drinking/  ' '  Suddenly  it  seemed  to 
occur  to  him  that  there  was  matter  for  surprise  in 
Misset' s  intimate  knowledge  of  his  missive.  "How 
on  earth,"  he  asked,  bluntly,  "do  you  know  what 
was  written  in  my  letter,  anyway  ?" 

Misset,  in  justification  and  with  a  quiet  smile,  pro- 
duced his  own  letter.  "Because,"  he  said,  "I  have 
also  had  a  letter  advising  me  to  visit  the  '  Blue  Moon* 
at  Strasbourgh,  and  while  there  to  drink  Green 
Seal  Hermitage." 

"The  deuce  you  have?"  Gaydon  commented. 
"  And  how  is  your  letter  signed  ?" 

"It  is  signed  'C.W.,'"  Misset  answered, pointing 
to  the  signature  as  he  spoke,  and  Gaydon  echoed 
him, " '  C.  W.,' "  and  whistled  thoughtfully.  "  Charles 
Wogan,  no  less,"  Misset  explained,  though  it  was 
clear  from  Gaydon's  face  that  no  explanation  was 
necessary. 

"What  does  he  want  with  us?"  Gaydon  asked, 
vaguely. 

Misset  shook  his  head.  "God  knows!"  he  an- 
swered, with  equal  vagueness. 

"Well,  God  bless  him  whatever  he  wants,"  Gay- 
don said,  fervently.  "There  isn't  a  man  in  the 
world  I'd  sooner  serve  than  Charles  Wogan,  barring 
the  King,  of  course,  God  bless  him !" 

"Small  blame  to  you  for  saying  that  same, 
Major,"  Misset  agreed.  "There  never  was  a  better 

30 


THE    "BLUE   MOON" 

boy  came  out  of  Ireland  than  Charles  Wogan  of 
Rathcoffy." 

"No,  nor  never  will,"  Gaydon  affirmed,  em- 
phatically. As  he  spoke  the  landlord  returned 
from  the  cellar  bearing  the  bottle  of  Hermitage 
that  Gaydon  had  ordered,  and,  setting  it  on  the 
table  by  the  side  of  Misset's  flagon,  slowly  poured 
out  a  bumper  and  retired.  When  he  had  gone 
Gaydon  resumed  his  theme.  "I'd  like,"  he  con- 
tinued, "to  know  what  Wogan  wants  us  to  do." 

"He  wants  us  to  drink  Green  Seal  Hermitage," 
Misset  answered,  lifting  his  full  glass  to  his  lips  and 
emptying  it.  "And  he  couldn't  set  us  a  much 
pleasanter  task,"  he  concluded,  as  he  set  the  glass 
on  the  table  again. 

Gaydon,  following  his  friend's  example,  lifted 
and  emptied  his  glass,  and  when  he  lowered  it  his 
face  was  eloquent  of  approval.  "That's  truth  for 
you,"  he  said,  enthusiastically.  "I  always  think 
these  Rhone  wines  have  a  perfume,  a  body,  a  tang 
that  beat  creation."  He  paused  for  a  moment, 
and  then  continued,  as  if  a  thought  had  sud- 
denly struck  him:  "What  was  it,"  he  questioned, 
"that  you  were  saying  about  Mistress  Misset  and 
Jane  ?" 

Misset  ensconced  himself  comfortably  in  his 
angle  of  the  settle  with  his  glass  and  flask,  and 
waited  until  Gaydon  had  occupied  the  opposite 
corner  with  his  glass  and  his  flask  before  he  an- 
swered the  question.  Then  he  spoke.  "I  was 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

saying,"  he  said,  "that  our  dear  Wogan  asked  me 
to  bring  the  girls  with  me." 

Gaydon  looked  frank  amazement.  "And  did 
you  ?"  he  asked,  in  a  voice  that  betrayed  his  surprise. 

Misset  nodded.  "I  did  that  same,"  he  re- 
sponded, briefly. 

Gaydon  sprang  to  his  feet  in  an  instant,  all 
eagerness.  "Where  are  the  darlings?"  he  asked. 
"Let  me  pay  my  respects." 

Misset  signalled  to  his  friend  to  resume  his  seat, 
and  Gaydon  somewhat  reluctantly  obeyed.  "They 
are  resting  after  the  journey,"  Misset  explained. 
"You  shall  see  them  presently." 

Gaydon  looked  pleased  at  the  prospect.  "God 
bless  them!"  he  said,  warmly.  "I  drink  their  dear 
healths." 

The  pair  drank  again.  Misset  eyed  his  empty 
glass  approvingly.  "A  fine  wine,"  he  murmured; 
"a  bright  wine;  a  kind  wine." 

There  was  a  sound  of  footsteps  outside;  then 
the  door  opened  again,  and  for  the  third  time  that 
morning  a  man  who  wore  the  uniform  of  Dillon's 
regiment  entered  the  common-room  of  the  "  Blue 
Moon."  This  latest  comer  was  a  bigger  and  a 
younger  man  than  either  of  the  others,  his  prede- 
cessors, and  he  had  a  fine,  big  voice  that  suited  the 
fine  bigness  of  his  figure,  and  when  he  called  for 
the  landlord's  attention  he  did  so  in  a  tone  of  pleas- 
ant thunder.  "Landlord!"  he  cried,  and  at  the 
sound  of  that  rich  and  rolling  voice  the  landlord 


THE    "BLUE   MOON" 

swiftly  turned  and  stared  at  the  huge  stranger  ad- 
miringly as  he  saluted.  The  voice  had  also  its 
effect  upon  Misset  and  Gaydon,  snugly  concealed 
behind  the  high  screen  of  their  settle.  They  lowered 
their  lifted  glasses  and  pricked  their  ears  to  listen. 

"Your  servant,"  the  landlord  said,  and  waited 
for  the  order  which  he  guessed  was  coming. 

The  big  man  began  his  order.  "Fetch  me  a 
flagon  of — "  he  said,  and  then  seemed  to  have  for- 
gotten what  he  wanted,  for  he  paused  and  mur- 
mured to  himself,  "Now  what  the  mischief  is  it 
you've  got  to  fetch  ?"  With  a  comic  air  of  bewil- 
derment he  drew  a  letter  from  his  pocket  and  fum- 
bled at  it  anxiously. 

By  this  time  Misset  and  Gaydon  had  risen  cau- 
tiously to  their  feet  and  were  peeping  with  grinning, 
delighted  faces  round  the  edge  of  the  settle. 

The  big  man  scratched  his  ear.  "What  is  it  at 
all  ?"  he  muttered. 

"Is  it,"  the  landlord  suggested,  quietly,  "a  bottle 
of  the  Green  Seal  Hermitage  ?" 

"  It  is  that  same,"  the  genial  giant  agreed,  bang- 
ing his  big  hands  together  in  a  sounding  clap. 
"  But  whatever  made  you  guess  it  ?" 

"There's  a  great  run  on  the  Green  Seal  Hermi- 
tage to-day,"  the  landlord  explained.  "These  gen- 
tlemen share  your  taste."  And  as  he  spoke  he 
pointed  to  Gaydon  and  Misset,  who  had  now 
emerged  from  the  shelter  of  the  settle  and  stood 
silently  smiling  in  front  of  it. 

33 


THE   KING    OVER    THE   WATER 

The  new-comer  turned  toward  them,  recognized 
them,  and  bellowed  their  names  joyously.  "Gay- 
don!  Misset!"  he  cried,  extending  mighty  hands 
in  greeting,  and  his  predecessors,  clasping  each  a 
hand,  chorused  the  new-comer's  name,  "O'Toole," 
in  a  joyful  welcome. 

"What  kind  wind  blows  us  together?"  O'Toole 
asked,  gladly,  gripping  his  comrades'  fingers  in  a 
tremendous  squeeze  that  made  them  tingle. 

"  I'll  wager  that  you've  had  a  letter,"  Misset  said, 
confidently. 

And  O'Toole,  producing  the  letter,  confirmed  his 
confidence.  "I  have,"  he  said. 

"And  it's  signed  ' C.  W.,'"  Gaydon  suggested. 

"It  is,"  O'Toole  admitted. 

"And  C.  W.  stands  for  Charles  Wogan,  I'm 
thinking,"  Misset  commented. 

"Be  damned  if  it  doesn't,"  O'Toole  agreed, 
cheerfully.  "  But  what  does  it  all  mean  ?" 

"It  means,"  Misset  explained,  "that  Wogan 
wants  us." 

"What  for?"  O'Toole  questioned,  with  the 
puzzled  look  on  his  face  that  it  always  wore  when 
anything  unusual  was  toward. 

"That  you  must  ask  Wogan  himself,"  Gaydon 
answered. 

"Where  is  Wogan,  to  ask  him?"  O'Toole 
queried. 

And  Misset  queried  with  him,  "Yes,  where  is 
Wogan  ?" 

34 


THE    "BLUE    MOON" 

Gaydon  shook  his  head.  "There's  the  rub," 
he  said. 

"  He  can't  be  far  off,  that's  certain,"  O'Toole  in- 
sisted. "If  he's  at  the  pains  to  ask  three  friends 
to  take  wine  with  him,  he's  never  the  man  to  play 
us  false." 

Gaydon  looked  narrowly  about  the  room,  as  if 
he  expected  to  find  the  man  he  sought  in  some  odd 
corner.  Then  he  began  to  cry,  in  a  loud  voice, 
"Wogan  darling,  where  are  you?" 

Misset,  fired  by  the  idea, swelled  the  cry.  "Wogan! 
Wogan!"  he  shouted  as  lustily  as  his  friend. 

"Give  him  a  rouse  all  together,"  O'Toole  sug- 
gested. "  If  he's  within  earshot  that  will  fetch  him." 

Moved  by  a  common  impulse,  the  three  men 
raised  their  voices,  shouting  lustily,  "Wogan! 
Wogan!  Wogan!" 


Ill 

THE    OPENING   OF   A    DOOR 

A)    if  their    clamor    had    served  the  purpose  of 
a  successful  incantation,  the  door  of  the  room 
opened  and  the  man  they  were  calling  for,  the  man 
they  were  looking  for,  entered  the  room  and  greeted 
his  friends  with  a  quiet,  "God  save  all  here!" 

The  Chevalier  Charles  Wogan  was  a  young  man 
of  little  more  than  middle  height,  but  of  so  erect  a 
carriage  that  he  was  commonly  counted  tall.  The 
slightness  of  his  frame  and  the  fineness  of  his  limbs, 
while  they  curiously  dissimulated  his  great  physical 
strength,  so  increased  the  youthfulness  of  his  pres- 
ence as  to  make  him  appear  almost  boyish.  His 
handsome,  well-featured  face  was  stamped  with  an 
air  of  great  courage  and  cheerfulness,  that  seemed 
to  challenge  all  he  met  to  be  at  their  best  in  his 
company.  Master  of  many  weapons,  master  of 
many  languages,  Wogan,  in  the  zenith  of  his  splen- 
did spring,  was  one  of  the  most  accomplished  gen- 
tlemen in  Europe,  and  had  proved  himself  an  in- 
trepid soldier  and  an  able  diplomat  before  he  had 
crossed  the  threshold  of  his  prime.  The  nephew 
of  Richard  Talbot,  whom  King  James  the  Second 

36 


THE   OPENING   OF    A   DOOR 

had  made  Duke  of  Tyrconnel  in  the  days  of  his 
brief  dominion  in  Ireland,  Charles  Wogan  had 
been  familiar  with  courts  and  camps  from  his  boy- 
hood. Yet  he  had  contrived,  in  his  intimacy  with 
great  princes  and  great  captains,  to  admire  only 
their  nobler  parts,  and  to  copy  only  their  honorable 
qualities.  A  native  fastidiousness  in  the  man  kept 
him  clean  without  twisting  him  into  a  precisian; 
he  took  his  pleasures  like  other  soldiers,  but  he 
took  them  with  a  sweet  temperance  that  selected 
and  was  sane.  He  was  the  merriest  companion  in 
the  world,  and  most  liberal  in  his  tolerance  of  other 
men's  actions  and  opinions,  so  long  as  those  actions 
and  opinions  were  unstained  by  cowardice  or  dis- 
honor. But  he  had  his  own  high  standard  of  con- 
duct, and  he. followed  it  as  faithfully  as  he  could, 
serenely  confident  in  his  power  to  reprove,  and  if 
necessary  to  chasten  very  effectually  any  that  might 
be  tempted  to  presume  upon  his  way  of  behavior. 

Although  Charles  Wogan  was  a  soldier,  he  was 
not  wearing  a  soldier's  coat  this  day.  His  lithe 
figure  was  habited  soberly  as  to  hue,  though  richly 
as  to  mode,  in  a  dark-colored  travelling  suit  which, 
if  it  modified  his  military  bearing  to  something  of 
a  civilian  ease,  made  him  appear  indeed  a  civilian 
of  great  distinction. 

The  three  men  gave  his  name  in  a  breath  of 
exultation.  "Wogan!"  they  shouted. 

And  Wogan  smiled  at  their  enthusiasm.  "Him- 
self, and  never  better,"  he  said,  cheerfully,  as  he 

37 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

exchanged  hand-grasps  with  his  comrades.  "It's 
delighted  I  am  to  see  you  boys,  though  I  made  sure 
you  would  come  if  it  was  at  all  possible.  How  are 
ye  all  ?" 

O'Toole  answered  for  himself  and  his  friends. 
"Well  enough,  thanking  you  kindly." 

Wogan  turned  to  Misset.  "I  hope,"  he  said, 
"Mistress  Misset  is  well  and  with  you." 

"She  is  both,"  Misset  answered.     "Also  Jane." 

Wogan  rubbed  his  hands.  "Wicked  little  Jane," 
he  said.  "That's  good."  He  looked  meaningly  at 
O'Toole  as  he  spoke,  and  that  warrior,  who  had 
manifested  much  delighted  surprise  at  Misset's 
mention  of  his  companions,  turned  a  poppy  red 
under  his  friend's  gaze,  and  sought  to  cover  his 
confusion  by  coughing  loudly.  Wogan  smiled  com- 
passionately at  his  big  comrade's  visible  embarrass- 
ment. 

"Well,  my  hearts,"  he  declared,  "I  am  glad  to 
find  you  so  blithe  and  lively." 

"You  seem  cheery  enough,"  Gaydon  answered. 
"  How  do  you  manage  to  be  always  gay  ?  It's  a 
hard,  harsh,  cold,  cross,  uncomfortable  sort  of  a 
world,  but  whenever  I  see  you  you  are  as  brisk  as 
a  blackbird  on  a  thorn." 

Wogan  seated  himself  comfortably  on  the  table, 
took  a  glass  of  Hermitage  that  Gaydon  offered  him, 
emptied  it,  and  spoke:  "Friends  of  my  youth,  I've 
got  a  secret  to  tell  you.  When  I  lay  a  prisoner  in 
Newgate  in  the  Fifteen,  with  the  gallows  for  my 

38 


THE   OPENING   OF   A   DOOR 

finish,  I  had  time  and  plenty  for  thinking,  and  I 
remember  as  well  as  yesterday  the  thoughts  that 
came  cluttering  about  my  mind  as  I  lay  in  that 
great,  damp,  damnable  English  prison.  I  said  to 
myself,  *  Charles  Wogan,  my  boy,  Charles  Wogan 
of  Rathcoffy,  you're  caught  in  a  trap,  and  the  end 
of  it  seems  mighty  like  dancing  on  nothing  at  all 
worth  speaking  of.  But  if  the  saints  and  the  angels 
and  the  other  beneficent  beings,  that  are  rightly 
supposed  to  look  after  the  lives  of  poor  Irishmen, 
should  have  a  twist  of  a  thought  for  me  and  get 
me  out  sound  of  this  mischief,  why,  then,'  says  I, '  I 
make  a  vow  never  to  show  trouble  for  anything  in 
life  again,  but  to  take  all  smiling.'  Well,  boys,  you 
know  that  I  did  escape,  glory  be  to  God!  in  away 
that  was  little  short  of  a  miracle,  and  I  have  tried 
to  keep  to  my  vow  ever  since." 

"Faith,"  OToole  said,  with  a  grin,  "that's  as 
good  a  philosophy  as  another,  if  only  a  man  can 
live  up  to  it." 

Wogan  laughed  gayly.  "It's  easy  enough  when 
you  give  your  mind  to  it,"  he  assented. 

There  was  a  pause,  and  then  Gaydon  tapped 
Wogan  on  the  knee.  "Wogan,  little  chicken,"  he 
said,  "I'm  thinking  a  great  thought." 

"Give  it  birth,  boy,"  Wogan  answered. 

"I'm  thinking,"  Gaydon  went  on,  "you  didn't 
call  us  three  old  friends  here,  to  this  blessed  *  Blue 
Moon,'  to  entertain  us  with  your  theories  as  to  the 
philosophy  of  life." 

39 


"You  are  right,"  Wogan  answered,  calmly.  "I 
did  not." 

His  calmness  had  an  irritating  effect  upon  Gay- 
don.  "Well,  what's  in  the  wind  now?"  he  asked, 
impatiently. 

The  air  of  mystification  which  enveloped  the 
day's  proceedings,  an  air  which  only  amused 
Misset  and  half  pleased  and  half  puzzled  O'Toole, 
made  the  graver  Gaydon  restless. 

Wogan  took  his  little  show  of  fretfulness  with 
perfect  good  humor.  "All  in  good  time,"  he  said 
with  a  smile.  "I  come  on  a  strange  errand  and  a 
dangerous,  and  maybe  I  want  you  to  share  the 
danger." 

O 

"What  is  it  all,  in  Heaven's  name?"  O'Toole 
implored,  bubbling  with  excitement. 

"Is  there  anything  you  could  want  of  us,"  Misset 
questioned,  with  a  faint  note  of  indignation  in  his 
voice,  "that  we  would  not  give  you  ?" 

Wogan  looked  at  his  three  friends  lovingly. 
"Dear  comrades  and  brothers-in-arms,"  he  began, 
"if  I  come  to  you  in  this  business  it  is  because  I 
am  in  need  of  the  best  help  I  can  get,  and  because 
I  know  of  no  better  men  than  you.  But  I  tell  you 
at  once,  before  I  cut  to  the  core  of  the  matter,  that 
it  is  the  deadliest  business  you  or  I  ever  set  about." 

"So  much  the  better,"  Gaydon  said,  and  Misset 
and  O'Toole  echoed  him  lustily. 

Wogan  looked  satisfied.  "I  felt  sure  I  could 
trust  you,"  he  said,  "Yet  I  must  needs  warn  you 

40 


THE   OPENING   OF   A   DOOR 

a  little  more.  If  we  come  out  of  this  business  in 
which  I  ask  your  help  with  success,  we  are  better 
by  the  honor  and  the  glory,  but  by  mighty  little 
else." 

"What  in  all  the  world  is  better  than  honor  and 
glory  ?"  O'Toole  asked,  with  a  great  wave  of  his 
hand. 

Misset  clapped  him  on  the  shoulder.  "Good 
man!"  he  said,  half  earnest,  in  agreement  with  the 
sentiment;  half  mocking,  at  the  histrionic  manner  of 
its  delivery. 

"Wait!"  Wogan  said.  "If  we  fail,  as  it  is  ten  to 
one  we  do,  our  heads  will  pay  for  it.  I  tell  you 
this  in  all  fairness  by  way  of  preface,  for  once  I 
begin  to  tell  my  story  you  will  find  no  way  to 
withdraw." 

"Faith,"  Gaydon  said,  gruffly,  "my  head  is  no 
such  wonderful  ornament  that  I  should  set  much 
store  by  it,  and  I'll  not  think  so  ill  of  you,  Charles, 
as  to  believe  that  you  mean  to  affront  me  by  hinting 
that  danger  could  sour  an  adventure  for  me." 

Misset  banged  the  table  applaudingly.  "Hear 
him!  hear  him!"  he  cried. 

!l  Them's  my  sentiments,"  O'Toole  shouted, 
stormily. 

Wogan  raised  a  deprecating  hand  and  gained 
silence.  "Forgive  me,"  he  said,  gently,  "the 
punctilio,  the  clearing  of  the  ground.  From  this 
moment  we  are  together,  lads,  till  the  end.  If  I 
summoned  you  to  meet  me  in  this  whimsical  fash- 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

ion,  and  this  unfamiliar  place,  you  may  be  sure 
that  I  had  very  good  reason  for  doing  so.  Now,  in 
the  first  place,  you  must  know  that  I  am  no  less 
than  an  envoy,  and  the  envoy  of  a  king." 

He  paused  to  watch  the  effect  of  his  words 
upon  his  hearers.  O'Toole  gaped.  Misset  smiled. 

Gaydon  leaned  forward.  "Meaning  our  King?" 
he  questioned. 

"Our  King,"  Wogan  repeated.  He  sprang  from 
the  table  to  his  feet  as  he  spoke,  and  the  four  men 
in  homage  to  their  exiled  monarch  made  a  military 
salute.  Wogan's  three  friends,  led  by  O'Toole, 
cried  lustily.  "God  save  the  King!"  And  Wogan 
echoed  them  with  a  "God  save  the  King!"  as  loud 
and  valiant.  When  the  little  ebullition  of  loyalty 
ended  Wogan  resumed  his  seat  on  the  table  and 
continued  his  discourse.  "And  my  purpose  is  to 
capture  a  queen." 

The  three  men  stared  at  him  in  astonishment. 

"To  capture  a  queen  ?"  Gaydon  repeated,  making 
himself  the  voice  of  the  triple  amazement. 

Wogan  corrected  his  phrase.  "I  should  rather 
say  to  rescue  a  queen,"  he  explained.  "I  want  to 
secure  a  queen  for  my  King." 

The  words  were  strange  enough,  startling  enough. 
Misset  heard  them  in  alert  silence.  O'Toole  glared 
at  Wogan.  "What  do  you  mean  ?"  he  gasped. 

"Wogan,  my  boy,  you  have  something  to  say,  and 
you'd  better  say  it  without  any  interruption  from 
us,"  Gaydon  observed,  wisely.  He  dragged  a  chair 

42 


THE   OPENING   OF   A   DOOR 

forward  as  he  spoke  and  seated  himself  by  the 
table.  Misset  and  O'Toole  followed  his  example, 
and  Wogan  continued  his  tale. 

"You  know  as  well  as  I  do,"  he  began,  "that 
his  Majesty  King  James  the  Third,  whom  Heaven 
bless  and  preserve,  must  find  him  a  wife  among  the 
royal  princesses  of  Europe  that  the  Stuart  blood 
may  run  in  ceaseless  succession." 

O'Toole  nodded  approval.  "Certainly,"  he  said, 
and  looked  profoundly  wise. 

"The  difficulty  is  to  find  the  lady,"  Gay  don  com- 
mented. 

O'Toole  would  not  agree.  "Sure,  no  difficulty 
at  all,"  he  protested.  "Where  is  the  she  that  would 
not  be  glad  to  marry  the  King  of  England  ?" 

"Temporarily  residing  in  Rome,"  Misset  re- 
marked dryly. 

Wogan  raised  a  hand  in  demand  for  silence. 
"Hush!"  he  said.  "Of  course  you  will  very  well 
understand  that  the  business  was  not  as  easy  as 
ABC.  His  Majesty,  God  bless  him,  is  unhappily 
at  this  moment  no  more  than  a  monarch  in  partibus 
infidelium.  He  will  come  to  his  own  again  in  good 
time." 

"Amen,"  O'Toole  said,  gravely. 

"No  man  doubts  that,"  Gaydon  asserted. 

Misset  looked  grave  and  whistled  thoughtfully. 

"But  it  may  take  time,"  Wogan  continued,  "a 
year  or  two,  or  perhaps  three,  and  in  the  mean  time 
our  royal  master  is  not  necessarily  a  persona  grata 

4  43 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

at  a  foreign  court  when  he  comes  a-wooing.  So, 
you  see,  the  wooing  had  to  be  conducted  warily.  It 
would  not  do  to  ask  and  not  to  have;  and  it  would 
not  do  to  let  the  Elector  guess  that  we  were  going 
to  ask  at  all,  knowing  that  the  usurper  would  do 
his  best  to  interfere  with  any  alliance  his  Majesty 
might  desire.  The  matter  would  have  to  be  en- 
trusted to  an  envoy,  to  a  secret  envoy,  to  a  reliable 
and  discreet  man.  His  Majesty  was  pleased  to 
think  that  I  was  reliable,  trustworthy,  and  discreet." 

"His  Majesty  was  quite  right,"  O'Toole  inter- 
polated, enthusiastically. 

"His  Majesty  is  always  right,"  Wogan  said,  dryly, 
though  it  was  plain  that  he  was  none  too  displeased 
at  his  friend's  fervor.  "His  Majesty,  after  due 
consultation  with  his  chief  adviser,  Cardinal  Gual- 
terio,  vested  me  with  full  power  and  procuration, 
and  so  in  the  beginning  of  last  year  I  set  out  on 
what  professed  to  be  a  pleasant  round  of  visits  to 
several  of  the  courts  of  the  Empire.  But,  albeit  I 
lingered  here  and  dallied  there,  for  all  the  world 
like  a  vagrant  butterfly  of  a  fellow  with  no  other 
thought  in  heart  or  head  than  his  own  entertainment, 
I  was  always  intent  upon  my  errand.  I  will  not 
vex  your  ears,  old  friends,  with  an  account  of  all 
that  befell  me  in  my  roundabout  wanderings, 
though,  indeed,  I  enjoyed  myself  well  enough,  and 
would  have  enjoyed  myself  much  more  but  for  the 
thought  of  my  aim  and  my  embassy.  Let  it  be 
sufficient  that  in  the  fulness  of  time  I  came  to 

44 


THE   OPENING   OF   A   DOOR 

the  little  court  of  Ohlau,  in  Silesia,  where  Prince 
James  Sobieski  reigned  his  reign.  I  came  there,  as 
I  flatter  myself,  in  the  most  natural,  easy,  incon- 
spicuous way  in  the  world,  unnoticed  by  any  one, 
certainly  unsuspected  by  any  one.  And  it  was 
there  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  of  all  the  sweet 
royal  ladies  of  Europe  there  is  no  lady  better  fitted 
to  be  the  consort  of  a  great  king  than  the  lady  who 
is  Princess  Clementina  Sobieski,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  the  Prince  of  Poland." 

"If  you  say  so,  my  boy,"  O'Toole  interrupted, 
"I  have  every  reason  to  respect  your  taste  in  the 
matter  of  women." 

"She  is  a  goddess,  of  course,"  Gaydon  observed, 
confidently. 

Wogan  smiled  at  him.  "No  woman  is  a  goddess, 
my  good  Gaydon.  No  woman  ever  has  been  a 
goddess,  no  woman  ever  will  be  a  goddess.  It  is 
only  some  addle-pated  poet  who  talks  and  thinks  in 
that  way  of  women  at  all.  They  are  flesh  and  blood 
like  the  rest  of  us,  crammed  to  the  lips  with  faults, 
the  best  of  them,  and  yet  the  best  of  them  are  won- 
ders, and  bless  the  world.  As  for  the  Princess 
Clementina,  in  sober  truth,  I  scarcely  saw  the  young 
lady  at  all,  and  had  scarcely  five  minutes'  speech 
with  her.  But  I  found  her  fair,  and  I  heard  of  her 
virtues,  and  I  knew  of  her  kinship,  and  I  decided 
to  act.  Behold  the  portrait  of  the  lady  who,  God 
willing,  shall  be  our  King's  wife  and  England's 
cjueen!" 

45 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

As  he  spoke  he  drew  a  small  miniature  in  a  gold 
case  from  his  bosom  and  placed  it  on  the  table. 
Misset  seized  it,  and  the  picture  passed  rapidly 
from  hand  to  hand  of  the  admiring  men. 

"If  she  is  as  beautiful  as  that,"  Gaydon  said, 
rapturously,  "she  is  beautiful  enough  for  any  king 
that  ever  wore  crown." 

"She  sets  my  pulses  drumming,"  Misset  vowed. 

O'Toole  declared,  "I  long  to  draw  sword  for  so 
sweet  a  lady." 

Gaydon  punctuated  the  raptures.  "But  you 
haven't  finished  your  story,"  he  said. 

Wogan  went  on:  "Well,  to  make  a  long  story 
short,  I  told  the  girl's  father  my  errand,  and  the 
Polack  jumped  at  the  meaning  and  was  as  brisk 
as  a  bird  in  spring  for  the  marriage,  so  that,  indeed, 
my  mission  seemed  ended  before  it  was  well  be- 
gun. But  then  came  in  that  devil  of  a  chance  that 
mars  the  merriest  enterprises.  Up  to  the  point 
where  all  important  pledges  were  given  everything 
had  passed  in  the  most  perfect  secrecy,  a  secrecy 
so  black  and  impenetrable,  as  I  thought,  that  in 
my  foolhardiness  I  made  sure  that  I  had  no  more 
to  do  than  to  hasten  back  to  my  royal  master  and 
assure  him  that  all  was  well.  But,  unfortunately, 
the  game  of  life  is  not  played  in  that  fashion,  friend 
Gaydon,  and  just  at  the  moment  when  everything 
seemed  at  the  best,  all  turned  to  the  worst.  There 
I  was;  I  had  the  consent  of  father  and  mother, 
the  approval  of  the  princess,  and,  best  of  all,  for 

46 


THE   OPENING   OF   A   DOOR 

the  state  business,  the  contract  of  marriage  duly  and 
formally  signed  by  both  parties." 

Gaydon  looked  surprised.  "  It  seems  to  me,"  he 
said,  for  Wogan  came  to  a  halt  and  seemed  to  be 
lost  in  his  recollections,  "that  the  game  was  played, 
and  that  you  were  of  the  winning  side." 

"So  it  seemed,  man,  so  it  seemed,"  he  answered. 
"But  I  counted  without  the  devil  and  the  Elector 
of  Hanover.  For  while  I,  flushed  with  success,  was 
posting  back  to  Italy  to  tell  the  tale  of  my  triumph, 
it  seems  that  his  serene  rascality  the  Elector  began 
to  grow  suspicious.  Thus,  while  I  was  at  Urbino 
congratulating  my  royal  master  on  his  choice  of  a 
bride,  the  emissaries  of  the  Hanoverian  were  snuff- 
ing out  the  whole  business.  It  was  no  fault  of 
mine;  it  was  the  fault  of  the  Sobieskis.  You  know 
what  royal  people  are." 

"I  know  little  of  princes,"  Gaydon  admitted, 
with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders.  "I'll  take  them  at 
your  valuation." 

Wogan  went  on:  "Why,  they  lingered  and 
dawdled,  wasting  precious  time  in  unnecessary 
preparations  for  the  young  lady's  journey.  Not 
that  she  was  in  any  way  to  blame  for  the  blunder. 
She  would  have  swung  herself  a-horseback  and  gal- 
loped off  to  my  royal  master  as  merrily  as  you 
please.  But  that  was  not  the  way  with  her 
parents.  All  must  be  done  in  accordance  with 
etiquette,  with  precedence,  with  the  dignity  of  the 
high  contracting  parties.  So  the  usurper's  lackeys, 

47 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

spies,   eavesdroppers,   and   backdoor   rascals    find 
out  what  game's  afoot." 

"Oh,  murder,  murder!"  O'Toole  groaned,  shak- 
ing his  head  dismally. 

He  would  have  said  more,  but  Wogan  overrode 
his  interruption.  "  Back  goes  the  news  to  London," 
he  went  on,  "and  sets  the  little  Elector  in  a  rage. 
My  fair  princess  had  started  on  her  belated  journey 
to  my  royal  master.  Any  gentleman  would  have 
let  her  go  her  way  in  peace — " 

Misset  interrupted  cynically.  "But  you  are 
speaking  of  the  Elector  of  Hanover,"  he  suggested. 

"True,"  Wogan  agreed,  "yet  a  man  might  steal 
a  crown  and  yet  not  be  base  enough  to  interfere 
with  the  love  affairs  of  a  lady." 

"What  does  the  little  Elector  do?"  Gaydon 
asked. 

Wogan  continued:  "The  petty  fellow  set  his 
wits  to  work  to  prevent  my  little  princess  from 
marrying  my  royal  master.  So  he  brings  pressure 
upon  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  who,  for  political 
reasons,  is  anxious  to  please  him.  Can  you  be- 
lieve it,  boys,  this  emperor,  this  successor  of 
Charlemagne,  was  mean  enough  to  give  orders  that 
the  princess  should  be  arrested  on  her  arrival  at 
Innspruck  and  kept  under  lock  and  key  until 
further  orders  from  the  British  Whigs." 

O'Toole  banged  the  table  with  his  big  fist. 
"Emperor  or  no  emperor,  it  was  a  dastard's  act," 
he  shouted. 

48 


THE   OPENING   OF   A   DOOR 

"The  worst  of  it  is,"  Gaydon  said,  gravely, 
"that  it  seems  to  me  to  end  the  business." 

Wogan  turned  on  him  sharply.  "End  the  busi- 
ness!" he  echoed.  "By  God!  man,  the  business  is 
not  well  begun!  Emperor  or  no  emperor,  he  shall 
not  keep  our  Queen  from  our  King.  Emperor  or 
no  emperor,  he  shall  not  insult  King  James  with 
impunity.  He  shall  find  that  our  royal  master  has 
friends  who  can  checkmate  him,  who  can  check- 
mate the  Elector  of  Hanover,  and  bring  the  bride 
to  the  groom  in  spite  of  their  teeth." 

"Who  are  these  friends?"  Gaydon  asked  dryly, 
"who  are  going  to  do  all  these  wonderful  things  ?" 

"Four  men,"  Wogan  answered,  simply. 

"Four  men!"  Misset  echoed,  astonished. 

"Whose  names  are?"  O'Toole  questioned. 

Wogan  answered  him  genially.  "The  name  of 
one  is  Charles  Wogan  of  Rathcoffy.  The  name  of 
another  is  Richard  Gaydon,  Knight  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Louis,  and  Major  in  the  Irish  regiment  of 
Dillon  in  France.  The  name  of  a  third  is  John 
Misset,  and  the  name  of  the  fourth  is  Luke  O'Toole." 


IV 

THE    PLAN    OF    CAMPAIGN 

O'TOOLE  put  down  the  glass  he  was  lifting  to 
his  lips  and  stared  at  the  speaker  with  an 
honest  amazement  painted  on  his  handsome  face. 
"Holy  Moses!"  he  murmured,  and  then  feeling 
that  he  had  given  sufficient  expression  to  his  feel- 
ings, he  raised  the  cup  again  and  emptied  it. 

Gaydon  leaned  forward  and  looked  shrewdly 
into  Wogan's  face.  "Is  it  funning  you  are?"  he 
asked. 

But  before  he  could  be  answered  Misset  inter- 
posed with  a  question  of  his  own.  "Excellent 
friend,"  he  said,  with  a  voice  whose  inquiry  was 
faintly  tinged  with  mockery,  "what  can  you  and  I 
and  our  friends  here  do  against  the  Emperor  of 
Austria  ?" 

Wogan's  calm  gaze  travelled  quietly  from  O'Toole 
to  Gaydon,  and  from  Gaydon  to  Misset.  "Surely 
it  is  simple  enough,"  he  replied.  "Our  future 
Queen  is  held  in  prison.  It  is  our  duty  as  faithful 
subjects  of  our  royal  master  to  get  her  out  of 
prison." 

This  time  O'Toole  and  Gaydon  said  nothing— 
5° 


O'Toole  because  he  was  too  much  surprised  for 
speech;  Gaydon  because  he  had  recovered  his 
habitual  conviction  that  when  Wogan  said  a  thing 
he  meant  it. 

But  Misset  persisted  in  questioning,  persisted  in 
a  slightly  ironic  scepticism.  "My  dear  Wogan," 
he  asked,  "do  you  seriously  propose  that  you  and 
I  and  our  friends  here,  like  some  of  the  paladins 
in  the  story-books,  should  set  about  rescuing  this 
fair  princess  from  her  enchanted  castle  with  our 
own  hands  ?" 

Wogan  nodded  cheerfully.  "That  is  exactly 
what  I  propose,"  he  said;  and  then,  slapping  the 
table  smartly  with  his  hand,  he  cried,  in  a  louder 
voice,  "Zooks,  man,  there  are  mighty  few  things 
that  one  Irish  gentleman  cannot  accomplish,  and 
nothing  in  the  wide  world  ought  to  be  impossible 
to  four  or  us." 

O'Toole  was  obviously  swept  to  Wogan's  side. 
"Hurroo!"  he  cried,  and  applied  himself  again  to 
the  flagon,  with  the  air  of  a  man  whose  doubts 
have  been  entirely  satisfied. 

Misset  stroked  his  chin  thoughtfully. 

Gaydon  spoke.     "You  talk  big,"  he  said. 

Wogan  beamed  upon  him.  "Why  not?  Plague 
take  the  prim  ones!  Big  words  are  the  trumpets 
of  big  thoughts,  the  torches  of  big  deeds.  When  a 
man  tells  himself  that  he  can  fight  the  world  single- 
handed,  well — he  may  lose  the  battle,  but,  at  least, 
he'll  lose  it  in  the  grand  manner." 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

"Philosopher,"  Misset  commented,  dryly.  It 
was  evident  that  to  him  the  difficulties  of  the  enter- 
prise still  remained  difficulties. 

Wogan  laughed  and  continued:  "But  truly, 
boys,  for  all  my  bluster,  the  enterprise  is  no  such 
tremendous  business.  Though  I  swagger  like  a 
swashbuckler,  I  have  planned  like  a  diplomatist. 
My  campaign  is  mapped  out,  and  I  fire  my  first 
shot  to-day." 

"  How  so  ?"  Gaydon  asked,  visibly  eager. 

Wogan  began  to  explain:  "The  usurper's  Whig 
ministers  have  hatched  a  plot — a  whiff  of  it  came  to 
me  by  a  lucky  chance.  In  order  to  make  sure  that 
my  fair  Princess  shall  not  marry  my  royal  master 
they  propose  to  marry  her  to  some  one  else." 

O'Toole  looked  surprised.  "The  devil  they  do!" 
he  cried. 

Misset  was  still  the  interrogator.  "And  that 
some  one  is  ?"  he  asked,  and  paused. 

Wogan  went  on.  "A  spalpeen  that  calls  him- 
self the  Prince  of  Niemen.  So  long  as  my  Lord 
Stanhope  fills  his  pockets  with  guineas  he  would 
marry  the  devil's  sister,  let  alone  such  an  angel 
maid  as  Sobieski's  daughter." 

O'Toole  banged  the  table  and  voiced  his  in- 
dignation with  an  emphatic,  "Damn  the  rascal!" 

Wogan  continued:  "I  have  also  learned  that 
the  usurper's  people  in  London  are  sending  out  a 
special  envoy  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria  to  further 
this  damnable  marriage.  This  envoy  is  to  visit 

52 


THE    PLAN    OF   CAMPAIGN 

Innspruck  on  his  way  to  see  that  the  Princess  is 
closely  caged,  and  to  try  and  persuade  her  to 
abandon  our  King." 

Gaydon  looked  at  his  friend  with  a  slightly  ironic 
smile.  "You  have  got  no  time  to  lose,"  he  said. 

Wogan  answered  him  briskly:  "And  I  am  not 
going  to  lose  any."  As  he  spoke  he  drew  a  folded 
map  from  his  breast  pocket,  and,  opening  it,  spread 
it  out  upon  his  knee  and  pointed  to  it  with  his 
finger.  "Here  is  a  map,"  he  said,  "that  shows  us 
what  we  have  to  do.  Here  is  Innspruck  in  the 
dominions  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  where  our 
Princess  lies  a  prisoner.  Here  is  Rome,  in  the  States 
of  the  Church,  where  our  King  sits  waiting  for  his 
sweet  lady.  Our  business  is  to  carry  our  Queen 
across  the  chessboard  of  Europe,  from  there  to 
there." 

Gaydon  stroked  his  chin.  "It's  a  mighty  long 
way,"  he  said,  thoughtfully. 

"It's  a  long  way,  sure  enough,"  Wogan  ad- 
mitted; "but  it's  only  part  of  it  that's  troublesome. 
Do  you  see  this  line  here  on  the  map  not  far  from 
a  little  village  called  Peri  ?" 

Misset  nodded.     "I  do,"  he  said. 

"Well,"  Wogan  went  on,  "that  line  marks  the 
boundary  of  the  dominions  of  the  Emperor  of 
Austria,  and  that  little  village  lies  in  the  territory 
of  the  States  of  Venice,  where  Austrian  law  does 
not  run,  and  where  Austrian  pursuit — if  we  are 
pursued — should  come  to  a  halt." 

53 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

"All  very  fine,"  Misset  commented,  "but  you 
know  as  well  as  I  do  that  if  you  are  pursued  your 
pursuers  are  not  likely  to  be  stopped  by  a  nice 
sense  of  international  etiquette  from  laying  hands 
on  you  even  in  Venetian  territory." 

"True  for  you,"  Wogan  agreed,  heartily,  "but  I 
have  taken  my  precautions  against  that  same 
chance.  There  is  a  certain  good  friend  of  mine, 
the  Baron  of  Winquitz,  that  is  happening  to  be 
forming  a  small  hunting-party  in  the  neighborhood 
of  that  little  village  of  Peri — quite  by  accident,  of 
course." 

"Of  course,"  Gaydon  echoed. 

Wogan  continued :  "  He  will  have  quite  a  num- 
ber of  armed  servants  and  peasants  at  his  back, 
so  that  soon  after  we  have  crossed  the  frontier  into 
the  States  of  Venice  we  shall  find  a  little  army 
ready  to  escort  us,  and  to  defend  us,  if  need  be, 
against  illegal  attack.  How's  that  ?" 

Gaydon  and  O'Toole  appeared  to  be  convinced 
by  their  friend's  arguments,  but  Misset  still  had  an 
objection  to  raise.  "It  is  all  right  as  far  as  that 
end  of  the  enterprise  is  concerned,"  he  said.  "  But 
how  about  the  beginning  ?  How  are  you  going  to 
get  the  young  lady  out  of  her  prison  ?" 

"That  is  easy,"  Wogan  answered,  briskly. 

"What  is  your  plan  ?"  Gaydon  questioned. 

"Simple  enough,"  Wogan  responded.  "Smuggle 
a  substitute  into  the  castle  of  Innspruck  to  take  the 
Princess's  place  while  she  slips  out  of  the  castle 

54 


THE   PLAN   OF   CAMPAIGN 

and  races  posthaste  to  Rome,  with  us  for  her 
bodyguard." 

"Well  done!"  O'Toole  applauded. 

"  But  there  are  not  enough  of  us  for  my  purpose," 
Wogan  added. 

"I  thought,"  Gaydon  commented,  dryly,  "you 
said  four  Irishmen  were  enough  for  any  enter- 
prise ?" 

"So  I  said,"  Wogan  agreed,  "and  so  I  think. 
But  it  isn't  men  I'm  thinking  of  now;  it's  women 
we  want." 

O'Toole's  face  had  already  expressed  all  the 
astonishment  it  had  room  for.  Had  he  possessed 
another  face  it  would  scarcely  have  served  to  set 
forth  the  amazement  which  now  found  voice  in  the 
explosive  repetition  of  the  single  word,  "Women!" 

"Two  women,"  Wogan  explained. 

His  questioner  was  upon  him  again.  "What 
for?"  Misset  asked. 

"Why,"  Wogan  replied,  "by  my  scheme  we  shall 
want  a  girl  to  take  the  place  of  the  Princess  and 
play  her  part  while  the  Princess  is  whisking  away 
to  Rome." 

Gaydon  nodded  approval.     "Very  true." 

Misset  questioned  again.  "But  the  other  wom- 
an; why  do  you  want  her  ?" 

Wogan  explained  in  a  voice  that  seemed  to  sug- 
gest that  explanation  was  scarcely  necessary.  "Sure 
you  would  not  expect  a  princess  like  the  Princess 
Clementina,  a  daughter  of  the  Sobieskis,  and  a 

55 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

future  Queen  of  England,  to  go  trapesing  round 
the  world  for  sport  with  no  closer  company  than 
four  men-at-arms  ?  She  must  have  her  lady-in- 
waiting." 

"Of  course  she  must,"  O'Toole  agreed,  em- 
phatically. 

"But  where,"  Misset  asked,  "are  you  going  to 
find  these  women  ?" 

Wogan  smiled  as  he  replied:  "Misset  can  an- 
swer that  question  for  me." 

Misset  gasped.  "Do  you  mean — "  he  began, 
and  paused. 

Wogan  explained:  "I  mean  that  if  there's  no 
braver  soul  than  Misset  in  Dillon's  regiment,  there's 
no  sweeter  slip  of  Eve  among  women  than  Misset's 
wife." 

"That's  true  for  you,"  Misset  said,  in  a  voice  of 
hearty  agreement. 

Wogan  rested  his  hand  gently  on  Misset's  shoul- 
der and  addressed  him  very  earnestly.  "I  want 
Mistress  Misset,"  he  said,  "with  her  consent  and 
yours,  my  friend,  to  accompany  our  Princess  on 
her  ride  to  Rome." 

Misset  answered  him  frankly:  "I  am  sure  you 
can  count  on  Mistress  Misset  as  on  myself.  But  I 
will  bring  her  in." 

He  rose  to  leave  the  room,  but  Wogan  stayed 
him.  "Wait  a  moment,"  he  said.  "There's  the 
girl  that  is  to  take  the  Princess's  place  and  play 
her  part  as  long  as  she  can  in  her  absence,  to  give 

.56 


THE   PLAN   OF   CAMPAIGN 

us  a  good  start.     Will  Jane  Gordon  be  willing  to 
play  that  part  ?" 

O'Toole  stared  in  wonder.  "  Jane  Gordon  ?"  he 
repeated,  in  an  astonished  voice. 

"  I  can  answer  for  my  wife,"  Misset  said, 
gravely,  "but  my  wife's  cousin  must  answer  for 
herself." 

"Is  it  a  dangerous  undertaking  for  the  girl?" 
Gay  don  asked. 

Wogan  shook  his  head.  "No,"  he  said,  fimly. 
"Of  course,  she  will  be  found  out  sooner  or  later, 
and  maybe  they'll  detain  her  for  a  bit  while  they 
raise  the  hue  and  cry  after  us.  But  they'll  let 
her  go  soon  enough  when  the  Princess  gets  to 
Rome." 

Here  O'Toole  interposed  with  a  magnificent 
gesture.  "You  leave  Jane  to  me,"  he  said.  "Jane 
and  I  are  very  good  friends.  We  understand  each 
other.  I'll  wager  that  Jane  will  go  if  I  ask  her 
to." 

Wogan  looked  at  the  giant  with  a  smile.  "Come, 
that's  mighty  convenient,"  he  admitted.  He  turned 
to  Misset.  "Will  you  bring  in  the  ladies,  Misset  ?" 
he  asked.  "Will  you  prepare  them  for  my  proposi- 
tion ?" 

"I  will,"  Misset  answered,  and  left  the  room. 

Gaydon  put  a  question.  "How  are  you  going 
to  get  the  girl  into  the  place  ?" 

"I  shall  take  her  in  myself,"  Wogan  answered, 
calmly. 

57 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

O'Toole  extended  a  pair  of  mighty  palms  in 
amazement.  "Good  Lord!  how?"  he  asked. 

"Not  as  myself,"  Wogan  continued.  "You 
heard  me  speak  but  now  of  a  British  envoy.  Well, 
I  shall  be  that  British  envoy." 

"How  will  you  contrive  that  same?"  Gaydon 
asked. 

Wogan  was  prompt  to  explain.  "Sir  Timothy 
Wynstock,  the  British  envoy,  is  coming  to-day  to 
this  town,  to  this  inn." 

"To  this  town?"  O'Toole  echoed. 

Gaydon  echoed,  "To  this  inn  ?" 

Wogan  continued  his  explanation.  "He  is  com- 
ing here,  to  meet,  as  he  thinks,  the  Prince  of  Niemen, 
the  rascal  that  wants  to  marry  our  Princess.  Really, 
he  comes  to  meet  me." 

"To  meet  you?"  O'Toole  exclaimed. 

Wogan  leaned  forward  between  the  two  men  and 
spoke  in  a  slightly  lower  voice.  "Yes.  It  came 
to  me  by  a  side  wind  that  the  knavish  pair  had 
agreed  to  meet  here  to  settle  the  details  of  their 
rascally  bargaining.  Sir  Timothy  is  due  to  arrive 
this  morning.  The  Prince  of  Niemen  can  scarcely 
get  here  till  this  afternoon.  By  the  time  he  arrives 
I  hope  to  have  settled  the  Briton's  business  and  to 
be  well  on  my  way  to  Innspruck." 

O'Toole  looked  mystified.  "I'm  afraid  I  don't 
quite  understand,"  he  confessed. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  ?"  Gaydon  asked. 

Wogan  explained:  "Why,  when  the  Briton  ar- 
58 


THE    PLAN   OF   CAMPAIGN 

rives  and  asks  for  the  Prince  of  Niemen  I  shall 
present  myself  as  that  shabby,  sham  gentleman." 

O'Toole  stared  with  round  eyes  of  wonder. 
"Will  he  believe  you?" 

"Why  not?"  Wogan  asked.  "I  can  talk  with  a 
high  Dutch  accent,  I  promise  you." 

"  But  what  follows  ?"  Gaydon  questioned. 

"It's  as  easy  as  kiss  my  hand,"  Wogan  answered, 
gayly.  "  Mr.  Commissioner  will  never  suspect  me. 
He  will  drink  with  me  as  freely  as  you  please.  And 
he  shall  drink,  by  Christopher!  I  have  here  in 
readiness  a  flask  of  Rhenish  wine,  and  a  carafe  of 
water  to  boot,  if  either  of  us  should  be  in  the  mind 
to  temper  our  wine."  He  paused  and  looked  at  his 
two  friends  gayly. 

O'Toole  was  still  unenlightened.  "Well,"  he 
questioned,  "what  then?" 

"There  is  my  mine,"  Wogan  answered,  "ready 
to  explode." 

Gaydon  shook  his  head.  "I  don't  follow,"  he 
protested. 

And  O'Toole  questioned  eagerly:  "Sure  you 
can't  bamboozle  the  Briton  with  Rhine  wine  and 
water  ?" 

Wogan  looked  cunning.  "The  seeming  Rhine 
wine,"  he  said,  "will  be  brandy  over-proof.  The 
seeming  water  will  be  the  strongest  Geneva  that 
ever  came  out  of  Holland.  I  will  fill  my  Briton  a 
bumper  of  brandy  and  toast  the  King.  He  will 
swallow  his  liquor  loyally,  poor  devil!  and  if  he  has 
5  59 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

any  breath  left  he  will  gasp  for  water.  I  tilt  a 
measure  of  the  gin  down  his  throat,  and  there  is 
my  gentleman,  dead  drunk  and  helpless." 

Gaydon  nodded  approval.  "Very  pretty  and 
ingenious,"  he  declared,  and  rose  to  his  feet  as  he 
spoke.  "  In  the  mean  time,  and  in  good  time,  here 
come  the  ladies." 


SIR   TIMOTHY   DRINKS 

THE  colloquy  was  interrupted  by  the  entrance 
of  Misset  escorting  his  wife  and  his  wife's 
cousin.  Mistress  Misset  carried  a  smile  on  her 
handsome  face,  that  had  lost  all  sign  of  the  fatigue 
of  travel,  and  she  hung  affectionately  on  her  hus- 
band's arm.  It  was  plain  that»she  was  in  a  good 
humor  with  the  world,  but  the  girl,  Jane  Gordon, 
looked  sullen  and  frowning,  as  one  that  was  but 
ill-satisfied  with  immediate  events.  The  moment 
the  ladies  came  into  the  room  O'Toole  sprang  to  his 
feet  with  a  noise  and  vehemence  that  suggested 
Enceladus  upheaving  Etna  and  rushed  to  Jane's 
side.  But  if  the  genial  giant  expected  a  genial 
reception  he  was  much  disappointed.  The  girl  gave 
him  the  coolest  of  greetings,  dipped  a  curtsey  to 
Wogan  and  Gaydon,  and  then  seated  herself  de- 
murely in  the  chair  O'Toole  proffered,  listening 
indifferently  to  the  compliments  that  the  tall  soldier 
paid  her.  When  Mistress  Misset  was  also  seated, 
Wogan  glanced  inquiringly  at  her  husband,  and 
Misset  spoke  in  answer  to  the  look. 
"My  wife,"  he  said,  with  a  proud  note  in  his 
61 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

voice,  "is  rejoiced  at  the  opportunity  to  show  her 
zeal  and  devotion  to  our  King." 

Mistress  Misset  extended  her  sweet,  smooth 
hands  to  the  Chevalier.  "I  am  that,"  she  said, 
emphatically,  "and  it  is  delighted  I  am,  Chevalier, 
that  the  good  thought  came  to  you  to  ask  my  help 
in  this  business.  It  is  a  cruel  shame  to  keep  King 
James  and  his  pretty  lady  apart,  and  it  is  a  proud 
woman  I  shall  be  if  I  can  do  anything  to  bring 
them  together." 

Wogan  made  her  a  courtly  bow.  His  eyes  were 
bright  with  gratitude,  for  he  knew  her  and  loved 
her,  in  the  honorable  way  in  which  a  true  man  may 
love  the  wife  of  his  friend,  and  it  delighted  him  to 
find  that  she  answered  to  his  knowledge  and  his 
love.  "Indeed,  madam,"  he  declared,  "without 
your  aid  the  enterprise  would  be  little  less  than 
impossible.  Now  that  you  have  joined  our  ranks 
I  feel  more  confident  than  ever  of  our  success." 

As  he  made  an  end  of  speaking,  his  eyes  travelled 
from  Mistress  Misset's  smiling  face  to  the  gloomy 
countenance  of  Jane,  where  she  sat  apart  with  the 
tall  soldier  by  her  side  that  strove  unsuccessfully  to 
entertain  her.  Mistress  Misset  followed  the  glance 
and  understood  it.  "My  cousin,"  she  said,  look- 
ing at  Jane,  though  she  addressed  Wogan,  "  doesn't 
very  rightly  understand  what  you  want  her  to  do." 

"Sure,  it's  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world,"  O'Toole 
interposed,  addressing  Jane  eagerly.  "All  you've 
got  to  do  is  to  pretend  to  be  another  charming 

62 


SIR   TIMOTHY   DRINKS 

young  lady  for  a  short  time,  and  that  ought  not  to 
be  difficult  to  any  one  so  charming  as  yourself." 

The  poor  gentleman's  sweet  words  were  wasted. 
The  girl  rose  abruptly  from  her  chair,  pushed 
O'Toole  and  his  compliments  impatiently  aside, 
and  came  forward  to  Wogan.  "Stand  aside,  all 
of  you,"  she  said,  sharply,  to  the  others,  "and  let 
me  have  speech  with  the  Chevalier!" 

It  was  the  way  with  those  that  knew  Jane  Gordon 
and  loved  her  to  yield  her  her  will  in  those  sudden, 
peremptory,  passionate  moods  of  hers.  Misset  and 
his  wife  occupied  the  long-abandoned  settle.  Gay- 
don  took  it  upon  him  to  replenish  a  dwindling  fire. 
O'Toole  went  to  the  window  and  stared  into  the 
courtyard,  drumming  dolefully  with  his  finger-tips 
upon  one  of  the  panes  to  masquerade  his  melan- 
choly. Jane  drew  Wogan  a  little  apart  and,  looking 
steadily  in  his  eyes,  questioned  him:  "Charles 
Wogan,"  she  said,  "what  is  it  you  want  me  to  do  ?" 

Wogan  looked  at  her  with  a  certain  wistfulness. 
She  was  young,  she  was  fair,  she  was  desirable;  he 
was  asking  much  of  her  youth,  and  had  nothing  to 
give  her  in  return.  But  the  cause  he  served  de- 
manded, as  it  deserved,  all  sacrifices.  The  wheel- 
ing world  and  all  its  peoples  existed  for  him  at 
that  hour  only  that  an  almost  unknown  princess 
should  be  safely  carried  to  marriage  with  his  royal 
master.  "I  want  you,"  he  said,  gently,  "to  do  a 
very  brave  thing  that  will  help  a  very  fair  and 
gracious  lady  to  pass  from  a  prison  to  a  palace." 

63 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

Jane  suddenly  lifted  her  lowered  lids,  and  there 
shone  a  fierce  flame  in  her  eyes,  as  she  looked  with 
a  passion  of  anger  at  Wogan.  "Why  should  I  do 
this  ?"  the  girl  retorted. 

Wogan  met  the  look  and  understood  it,  and  shut 
his  wit  against  his  understanding.  There  was  only 
one  thing  of  importance  in  the  world.  "  Because," 
he  answered,  "it  is  the  duty  of  all  of  us  that  serve 
the  House  of  Stuart  to  be  ready  at  any  time  to  make 
any  sacrifice  in  our  power  that  may  help  our  King." 

Even  as  he  spoke  there  came  across  his  mind 
a  wistful  consciousness  of  all  that  had  been  done 
to  serve  the  cause  he  served.  He  had  a  swift, 
miraculous  vision  of  all  the  gallant  men  and  good 
women  that  had  given  life  and  love,  goods  and 
gear,  for  the  Stuart  cause;  the  heroes  and  the 
heroines  of  the  great  war;  the  men  of  Worcester 
and  the  women  of  the  Flight;  the  martyrs  of  Boyne 
Water;  the  faithful  and  fated  of  the  Fifteen.  Surely 
the  memory  of  all  these  that  had  perished  made 
the  use  of  the  maid  Jane  Gordon,  as  it  would  have 
made  even  the  risk  of  her  life,  a  little  matter.  If 
it  was  given  to  him  to  command  that  use  and  risk, 
he  must  needs  do  so  for  his  master's  sake. 

Such  thoughts  lived  in  an  instant;  they  dissi- 
pated at  the  sound  of  Jane  Gordon's  voice.  The 
girl  looked  at  him  curiously.  "Do  you  wish  me 
to  do  this,  Charles  Wogan  ?"  she  asked. 

"I  wish  you  to  do  it,"  Wogan  answered,  "if  you 
are  willing  to  do  it  with  a  whole  heart.  I  know 

64 


SIR    TIMOTHY    DRINKS 

Mistress  Misset  would  be  willing  to  take  your 
place,  but  that  cannot  be.  It  is  essential  that  Mis- 
tress Misset  should  act  as  the  companion  of  the 
Princess  during  her  flight,  for  a  young,  unmarried 
girl  would  not  serve  the  turn."  He  paused  for  a 
moment,  and  then  added,  with  a  glance  toward 
the  window  where  a  burly  warrior  stood  apart  in 
puzzled  discomfiture,  "Though  if  my  friend  O'Toole 
had  his  way,  I  take  it,  you  would  not  long  remain 
unmarried." 

Jane  tossed  her  head  scornfully.  "If  you  think 
that  fool  could  please  me,  you  are  little  less  than  a 
fool  yourself,"  she  said,  sourly.  She  tightened  her 
lips  and  her  fingers  for  an  instant,  then  she  said, 
quietly,  "What  risk  do  you  run  in  this  business  ?" 

"Faith,"  said  Wogan,  with  a  laugh,  "if  I  fail  I 
am  likely  to  pay  for  it  with  my  head.  But  the  game 
is  worth  the  stake." 

The  girl  looked  at  him  shrewdly.  "Tell  me," 
she  said,  "are  you  in  love  with  this  pretty  Princess 
that  you  are  so  ready  to  risk  your  head  for  her?" 

This  time  Wogan  laughed  heartily.  "My  dear 
girl,"  he  answered,  "how  can  you  talk  such  non- 
sense ?  The  Princess  Clementina  is  the  affianced 
bride  of  my  master,  King  James,  and  if  she  were 
not,  I  have  only  seen  the  young  lady  for  a  few 
minutes  at  a  court  ceremonial,  and  even  a  wild 
Irishman  like  myself  is  not  such  touchable  tinder." 

He  spoke  lightly,  but  his  thoughts  were  scarcely 
so  light  as  his  words.  The  girl's  suggestion,  the 

65 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

girl's  innuendo,  the  girl's  assault,  had  fired  an  un- 
expected train  of  memories.  He  saw  again,  with  a 
strange,  a  staggering  distinctness  the  High  Hall 
at  Ohlau,  and  the  pompous  ceremonials  of  the 
little  court,  the  stars  and  the  uniforms  and  em- 
broidered coats  of  the  men  and  the  swelling  hoops 
of  the  women,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  all  the  figure 
of  Clementina,  very  blithe,  a  little  shy,  altogether 
gay  and  debonair  and  delightful,  greeting  the  un- 
known Irish  gentleman  so  cheerfully  and  sweetly, 
and  then  being  swept  away  on  the  high  tide  of 
pleasures  to  give  other  smiles  and  other  greetings. 
He  had  remembered  ever  since  the  joy  of  that 
moment;  was  he  now,  for  the  idle  speech  of  a  fro- 
ward  child,  to  remember  also  the  pain  ? 

"  I  will  be  willing  enough  to  help  if  you  wish  it," 
the  girl  said,  "but  it  seems  from  what  John  says 
that  I  am  to  be  left  behind,  and  I  do  not  like  that 
part  of  the  business.  Must  I  be  left  behind  ?" 

"  I  am  afraid  you  must,  Jane,"  Wogan  answered, 
"if  you  consent  to  join  our  adventure.  It  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  those  who  have  the  guar- 
dianship of  the  Princess  Clementina  should  believe 
her  to  be  still  in  their  custody  while  she  is  really 
travelling  as  fast  as  she  can  toward  Italy  and 
liberty.  The  longer  start  we  get  the  likelier  are 
our  chances.  If  I  thought  of  you  in  this  business, 
it  was  because  I  wished  to  deal  only  with  those 
whom  I  knew  well  and  trusted  thoroughly.  If 
there  were  any  danger  in  the  enterprise,  that  would 

66 


SIR    TIMOTHY    DRINKS 

not  have  deterred  me  from  seeking  your  help,  for 
I  know  you  are  not  a  girl  to  take  fear  of  danger." 

The  girl  flushed  with  pleasure  at  Wogan's  words, 
and  would  have  spoken,  but  Wogan  stayed  her 
with  a  smile  and  a  raised  hand,  and  continued: 
"I  will  not  say  that  there  may  be  no  discomfort  in 
this  duty,  but  I  can  assure  you  there  is  no  danger. 
You  have  only  to  play  the  part  of  the  Princess  for 
as  long  a  time  as  you  can,  and  when  the  trick  is 
found  out  you  will  be  released,  and  must  join  us 
as  speedily  as  possible." 

Jane  kept  silent  for  a  few  seconds,  then  she  spoke 
slowly.  "If  you  give  me  your  word  that  you  are 
not  in  love  with  this  pretty  Princess,  I  will  do  this 
thing  for  you." 

Wogan  was  a  little  angry  with  the  girl  for  her 
obstinacy,  but  he  still  spoke  kindly.  "My  child," 
he  said,  "I  have  already  answered  your  silly  ques- 
tion. You  must  now  make  up  your  mind." 

The  girl  extended  her  hand,  and  Wogan  took  it. 
"I  will  do  this  thing  for  you,  Charles  Wogan,"  she 
said;  "but  it  is  for  you  that  I  do  it,  mind;  not  for 
that  great  gaby  over  there,"  and  she  jerked  a 
contemptuous  shoulder  in  the  direction  of  O'Toole. 

Wogan  felt  more  than  a  little  embarrassed  by 
the  earnestness  of  the  girl's  words  and  the  earnest- 
ness of  the  girl's  look.  She  seemed  to  be  at  so 
little  pains  to  disguise  facts  that  he  was  so  anxious 
to  deny.  But,  after  all,  for  him  the  important  thing 
was  that  Jane  should  give  her  aid  to  the  conspiracy, 

6?  - 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

and  the  reason  why  she  gave  it  was  only  of  second- 
ary importance.  She  was  very  plainly  a  romantic 
young  woman,  and  one  that  had  to  be  humored; 
but  there  could  be  no  harm  in  humoring  her  for 
the  sake  of  the  cause;  so  Wogan  gave  her  a  warm 
pressure  of  the  hand,  and  turning  to  the  others 
announced  that  Mistress  Jane  had  consented  to 
take  a  part  in  their  enterprise. 

The  assembled  confederates  then  joined  in  a 
hasty  council  of  war.  It  was  arranged  that  Wogan 
should  proceed  that  afternoon  to  Innspruck  with 
Jane  as  his  companion.  When  the  conditions 
under  which  she  would  have  to  travel  were  made 
plain  to  the  girl,  she  again  began  to  start  objections, 
and  once  again  her  objections  surrendered  to  the 
special  request  of  Wogan.  It  was  settled  that 
Misset  and  his  wife  as  one  party,  O'Toole  and 
Gaydon  as  another,  were  to  proceed  also  at  a  later 
hour  to  Innspruck,  where  they  were  to  arrive  on  a 
certain  night.  At  Innspruck  they  were  to  put  up 
at  an  inn  chosen  by  Wogan,  the  inn  at  which  the 
coach  was  to  be  in  readiness  that  was  to  prove  the 
vehicle  of  freedom  for  the  Princess.  At  that  inn 
the  four  were  to  wait  till  Wogan  joined  them  with 
the  Princess  in  his  company,  if  the  enterprise  was 
indeed  successful. 

Just  as  these  arrangements  had  been  agreed  upon, 
O'Toole,  that  had  withdrawn  somewhat  sulkily  from 
the  conference  because  of  Jane's  indifference  to 
him  and  her  deference  to  Wogan,  and  that  had 

68 


SIR   TIMOTHY   DRINKS 

planted  himself  at  the  window  overlooking  the 
courtyard,  turned  to  the  company.  "There  is,"  he 
said,  "a  pompous-looking  fellow  that  has  just  en- 
tered the  inn,  whom  I  take  to  be  your  Englishman." 

Instantly  the  little  committee  dissolved.  The 
ladies  vanished.  The  men,  according  to  Wogan's 
instructions,  were  to  wait  within  hail.  Wogan 
stretched  himself  comfortably  upon  the  settle,  and 
a  few  minutes  later  the  landlord  very  obsequiously 
ushered  into  the  room  a  person  of  quality. 

The  stranger  was  a  solemn,  pompous  man,  with 
a  large  body,  a  stolid  carriage,  and  a  florid  face. 
He  was  dressed  in  a  fashion  of  dignified  discom- 
fort that  went  well  with  his  demeanor.  In  a 
word,  he  was  dressed  as  a  travelling  Briton  de- 
lighted to  dress,  in  the  mode  of  his  own  island, 
with  a  sovereign  disregard  for  the  fashions  of  alien 
races.  Such  as  he  would  have  shown  on  the 
steps  of  his  house  in  St.  James's  Square,  or  in  the 
Hall  at  St.  Stephen's,  so  he  showed  himself  when 
circumstances  compelled  him  to  wander — if  he 
could  ever  be  said  to  wander — abroad.  He  was 
not  one  of  the  many  English  of  his  time  that,  having 
made  the  grand  tour  in  youth,  returned  to  their 
home  Italianized  or  Gallicized.  He  was  sturdily 
patriotic,  and  cherished  an  intense  dislike  of  all 
foreigners,  except,  indeed,  the  Dutch  and  the 
Hanoverians,  that  had  been  good  enough  to  supply 
his  country  with  monarchs  that  were,  he  devoutly 
thanked  Heaven,  very  different  from  their  Scottish 

69 


predecessors.  He  carried  himself  with  an  air  of 
great  importance,  which  seemed  to  suggest  that 
the  earth  he  trod  on  gained  in  specific  gravity  from 
the  pressure  of  his  soles.  His  appearance  suggested 
rather  the  honest  country  gentleman,  good  across 
country,  an  authority  on  the  game  laws,  and  in- 
terested in  the  crops,  than  a  skilled  diplomatist. 
But  in  very  fact  the  gentleman  fancied  himself  not 
a  little  on  his  political  dexterity,  and  as  his  Whig- 
gism  was  unimpeachable,  his  means  considerable, 
and  his  relatives  influential,  he  had  already  enjoyed 
a  fairly  long  career  in  the  service  of  his  country. 
His  natural  importance,  the  importance  of  the 
squire,  the  importance  of  the  politician,  was  now 
essentially  exaggerated  by  his  sense  of  the  greatness 
of  the  duties  he  was  fulfilling.  The  journey  across 
Europe  for  the  purpose  of  thwarting  the  desires  of 
a  Stuart  Pretender  seemed  to  him,  who  under 
ordinary  circumstances  detested  travel,  an  action 
at  once  in  the  highest  degree  enjoyable  and  in  the 
highest  degree  meritorious.  Next  to  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  James  the  Third  expiate  the  offence  of  his 
descent  on  Tower  Hill  came  pleasure  in  the  power 
of  thwarting  him  in  his  wish  to  marry  the  Princess. 
It  was,  therefore,  with  an  almost  regal  port  that 
he  entered  the  common-room  of  the  "  Blue  Moon  " 
Inn  and  looked  about  him  confidently,  evidently 
counting  to  meet  at  once  the  individual  with  whom 
he  had  his  appointment.  He  had  not,  indeed,  ex- 
pected to  meet  the  Prince  until  the  evening  of  that 

70 


day,  but  he  had  just  been  told  of  his  premature 
arrival,  and  to  his  sense  of  personal  and  invested 
dignity  a  foreign  prince,  for  all  his  rank,  was 
never  a  man  that  should  suffer  himself  to  keep  a 
British  envoy  waiting. 

However,  and  happily  for  his  immediate  peace  of 
mind,  the  envoy  of  Lord  Stanhope  was  not  kept 
waiting.  As  he  flung  his  heavy  travelling  cloak 
across  the  back  of  a  chair,  he  became  heavily  aware 
of  Wogan,  who  sprang  from  the  settle  and  ad- 
vanced to  meet  him,  all  smiles  of  affability,  and 
addressed  him  in  some  sentences  of  well-turned 
French,  to  which  his  ingenuity  allowed  him  to 
attach  a  strongly  Teutonic  accent.  The  envoy 
bowed  stiffly  and  inquired  in  a  French  that  was 
not  nearly  as  good  as  Wogan's,  but  was  still  business- 
like enough  to  serve  its  turn,  "if  he  had  the  honor 
of  addressing  the  Electoral  Prince  of  Niemen." 

"You  have  that  same,"  Wogan  replied,  with 
great  cheerfulness.  That,  at  least,  was  the  idiom 
that  formed  itself  in  Wogan's  mind,  and  that  he 
interpreted  into  appropriate  French.  Then,  as  Sir 
Timothy  preserved  a  diplomatic  silence,  Wogan 
continued  the  conversation.  "Have  I  the  pleasure 
of  addressing  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock  ?"  he  asked. 

Wynstock  nodded.  "You  have,"  he  said,  la- 
conically. 

Wogan  made  him  another  elaborate  bow.  "I 
could  not  wait,"  he  declared,  "till  this  evening,  so 
came  on  to-day." 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

Wynstock  bowed  stiffly.  "I  am  indeed  honored 
at  the  privilege  of  meeting  your  Serenity,"  he  said. 

"Not  at  all,  not  at  all,"  Wogan  protested.  "Pray 
be  seated." 

Wynstock  slowly  lowered  himself  into  the  chair 
indicated  by  his  companion.  "Your  Serenity  is 
very  good,"  he  said,  and  said  no  more. 

Wogan  began  again.  "Well,  what  is  the  latest 
decision  of  our  dear  friends  in  England  ?  Do  they 
accept  me  for  a  candidate  for  the  hand  of  the 
delectable  Princess  ?" 

Wynstock  answered  in  his  dry,  high,  dignified 
voice:  "I  am  personally  instructed  by  my  Lord 
Stanhope  to  assure  you  that  he  is  very  conscious 
of  your  services  and  anxious  for  your  success." 

"His  Lordship  is  too  good,"  Wogan  said,  and 
smiled,  self-consciously. 

Wynstock  went  on:  "His  Lordship  further  in- 
structed me  to  add  that  in  the  event  of  your  success 
— which  can  scarcely  be  doubted  since  the  Em- 
peror is  agreed  to  further  your  suit — your  name 
will  be  placed  on  the  secret  service  list  of  the  Privy 
Purse  for  a  pension  of  a  thousand  pounds  English 
a  year." 

Wogan  allowed  his  face  to  express  gratified 
cupidity.  "His  Lordship  is  most  accommodating," 
he  said. 

Wynstock  continued  in  the  same  tone  of  voice 
in  which  he  would  have  answered  a  question  in 
the  House  of  Commons:  "I  have  not,  naturally, 

7* 


SIR    TIMOTHY   DRINKS 

these  dispositions  set  down  in  black-and-white.  To 
do  so  were  impossible  at  the  present  stage  of  the 
negotiations,  but  you  may  take  my  word  for  my 
Lord  Stanhope." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  it,"  Wogan  said,  cheerfully. 
"And  what  is  your  Excellency's  next  move  in  the 
game  ?" 

Wynstock  raised  a  protesting  finger.  "If  your 
Serenity  will  permit  me,  I  cavil  at  your  phrase.  We 
in  England  do  not  regard  politics  as  a  game.  We 
are  serious  statesmen,  I  am  pleased  to  believe,  earn- 
est, honest." 

"You  are  all  that,"  Wogan  said,  heartily;  then 
he  added,  as  if  it  were  an  afterthought,  "and  more." 

Wynstock  continued  with  a  slightly  annoyed  air, 
as  of  one  that  resented  the  turn  the  conversation 
had  taken.  "I  will  permit  myself,  therefore,  to 
speak  not  of  the  next  move  in  the  game,  but  of  the 
next  step  in  the  negotiations." 

"By  all  means,"  Wogan  agreed,  blandly.  "WTiat 
is  your  next  step  ?" 

"My  next  step,"  Wynstock  continued,  stolidly, 
"is  to  proceed  with  all  convenient  speed  to  Inns- 
pruck,  there  to  see  and  reason  with  this  foolish 
young  woman." 

"Come,  come,  Excellency,"  Wogan  said,  in  a 
voice  of  gentle  protest,  "if  you  are  speaking  of  the 
Princess  Clementina,  I  beg  you  to  remember  that 
you  are  speaking  of  a  lady  whom  you  regard  as  my 
future  wife." 

73 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

Wynstock  made  his  usual  stiff  salutation,  a  jerky 
nod  and  a  thrust-forward  stiff  chin.  "I  ask  your 
Serenity's  pardon,"  he  said,  gruffly  "What  you 
say  is  very  true.  I  propose  to  see  and  reason  with 
the  Princess  Clementina." 

"And  persuade  her  to  see  the  marital  merits  of 
the  Prince  of  Niemen  ?"  Wogan  suggested. 

Wynstock  nodded  again.     "Exactly,"  he  said. 

Wogan  questioned:  "And  if  she  declines  to  see 
his — my  merits  ?"  He  paused,  and  Wynstock  an- 
swered ponderously: 

"I  will  point  out  to  the  headstrong  minx — par- 
don me,  to  the  Princess  Clementina — that  until  she 
does  make  up  her  mind  she  is  likely  to  remain  in 
somewhat  uncomfortable  captivity  in  Innspruck." 

The  Englishman  seemed  to  think  that  the  inter- 
view was  at  an  end,  and  to  expect  a  sign  from  his 
companion  to  convey  as  much,  but  Wogan,  after 
a  moment's  silence,  began  again: 

"  Pray  tell  me — I  am  so  ignorant  of  your  ways — 
you  don't  feel  any  qualms  of  conscience  about  this 
business,  you  don't  feel  as  if  you  were  doing  dirty 
work?" 

"Dirty  work!"  Wynstock  echoed,  so  startled  for 
a  moment  out  of  his  composure  that  his  voice  was 
almost  at  the  pitch  of  a  scream.  "Your  Highness 
amazes  me.  No  work  can  be  dirty  work  that  is 
done  for  my  sovereign;  no  work  can  be  dirty  work 
that  serves,  however  slightly,  to  hamper  or  baffle 
the  machinations  of  the  Pretender." 

74 


SIR   TIMOTHY   DRINKS 

"Your  sentiments  do  you  credit,"  Wogan  said, 
slowly.  "Faith,  we  must  crush  a  cup  to  the  King." 

As  he  spoke  he  rose,  and  going  toward  the  dresser 
took  from  it  a  long  and  noble  flagon  that  looked 
like  a  flask  of  Rhine  wine,  a  large  jug  that  seem- 
ingly contained  water,  and  a  pair  of  ample  glasses. 
He  placed  these  on  the  table  and  lifted  the  flagon 
high  in  air. 

'"'Here,  your  Excellency,"  he  said,  enthusiasti- 
cally, "we  have  a  glass  of  ripe  old  Rhenish  wine 
such  as  should  warm  your  heart  when  you  drink 
it  to  a  loyal  toast."  As  he  spoke  he  filled  each  of 
the  capacious  glasses  to  the  rim,  gave  one  to  Wyn- 
stock,  and  taking  the  other  in  his  hand,  raised  it 
in  such  a  way  that  the  hand  that  held  the  glass 
was  directly  over  the  jug  of  water. 

Wynstock  observed  his  action  with  attention. 
"Egad,  sir,"  he  said,  "if  you  held  your  glass  so  in 
England  we  should  look  at  you  curiously." 

"Why  so,  pray?"  Wogan  said,  in  affected  sur- 
prise. 

Wynstock  explained:  "Why,  as  you  stand  now, 
your  glass  is  exactly  above  this  jug  of  water." 

"What  then  ?"  Wogan  asked,  with  the  same  air 
of  amiable  innocence. 

"Why,  your  Serenity,"  Wynstock  replied,  almost 
smiling  at  the  simplicity  of  his  companion,  "when 
rascally  Jacobites  in  England  find  themselves  in 
company  where  the  King's  health  is  given,  they 
contrive  to  have  a  glass  of  water  hard  by  their 
6  75 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

elbow,  so  that  when  they  lift  and  drink  the  King, 
they  drink  the  King  over  the  water.  Do  you 
take  me  ?" 

Wogan  laughed  boisterously.  "Vastly  whimsi- 
cal, indeed,"  he  declared.  "But  no  James's  man 
would  be  at  the  pains  to  do  the  like  here,  seeing 
that  he  would  be  on  the  same  side  of  the  sea.  This 
water  was  but  brought  if  you  found  the  Rhenish 
a  thought  heady  and  needed  qualifying." 

Wynstock,  that  was  fairly  famous  as  a  hard- 
drinking  man  in  a  hard-drinking  age,  resented  the 
implied  imputation.  "Your  Serenity  is  very  con- 
siderate," he  said,  stiffly,  "but  I  thank  God  I  can 
drink  with  any  man." 

Wogan  applauded  him.  "Capital!  Bumpers, 
then,  bumpers!  Without  equivocation  I  give  you 
the  King." 

The  big  Englishman  instantly  rose  to  his  feet, 
lifted  the  glass  to  his  lips  in  response  to  the  seeming 
loyal  toast,  and  without  hesitation  tossed  the  liquor 
down  his  throat.  While  he  did  so  Wogan  lowered 
his  own  glass  to  the  table  again.  As  the  fierce 
fluid  went  down  Wynstock's  throat,  he  reeled  as  if 
he  had  been  shot,  and,  clutching  at  the  end  of  the 
table,  he  gasped  wildly,  "Water,  water,  I  am 
choking!" 

Instantly  Wogan  poured  a  full  glass  from  the 
water-jug  and  held  it  to  Wynstock,  who  snatched 
it  eagerly. 

"I  told  you  it  was  strong,"  Wogan  said  quietly, 
76  ' 


SIR   TIMOTHY    DRINKS 

as  he  watched  Wynstock  tilting  the  contents  of  the 
second  glass  into  his  mouth. 

Wynstock  gave  a  great  choking  cry,  the  glass 
dropped  from  his  hand  with  a  crash  upon  the  floor; 
he  extended  his  arms  as  if  he  would  advance  upon 
Wogan;  then,  with  a  kind  of  groan,  he  dropped,  a 
huddled  mass  of  crumpled  flesh,  into  his  chair,  his 
head  lolling  on  his  breast,  and  his  breathing  coming 
stertorously.  Wogan  looked  at  him  with  a  satis- 
fied smile.  Then  he  promptly  pounced  upon  his 
victim,  and,  opening  his  coat,  calmly  possessed 
himself  of  the  drugged  man's  papers  and  went 
through  them  deliberately,  selecting  such  as  might 
be  of  service  to  him  for  his  purpose.  Of  these,  of 
course,  the  letters  of  credentials  which  Wynstock 
carried  from  my  Lord  Stanhope  to  the  Governor  of 
Innspruck  were  the  most  important.  But  there 
was,  besides,  a  letter  from  his  Lordship  to  Sir 
Timothy,  which  Wogan  read  through  carefully 
and  preserved  with  a  frowning  face,  for  it  renewed 
and  emphasized  the  demands  of  the  government 
for  increased  rigor  on  the  Emperor's  part  in  dealing 
with  the  captive  Princess. 


VI 

THE   PRINCE   OF  NIEMEN  ARRIVES 

WOGAN'S  moment  of  triumph  was  suddenly 
interrupted.  The  door  of  the  room  was  flung 
open,  and  O'Toole  dashed  in  in  a  state  of  high 
excitement,  hardly  glancing  at  the  figure  in  the 
chair,  whose  helpless  condition  announced  the  com- 
plete success  of  Wogan's  plan.  He  waved  his  great 
hands  in  a  tragic  manner,  and  shouted  wildly,  "Oh, 
Wogan,  my  poor  boy,  here  is  a  pretty  kettle  of  fish!" 

Wogan,  without  interrupting  his  business  of 
examining  the  Englishman's  papers,  asked  quietly: 
"What  is  the  matter?" 

O'Toole  sought  to  explain  coherently,  his  words 
huddling  together  and  tumbling  over  each  other 
in  his  confusion:  "A  horseman  has  just  ridden 
into  the  courtyard  asking  after  your  Englishman. 
It  is  the  Prince  of  Niemen  himself,  bad  luck  to 
him!" 

"The  Prince  of  Niemen!"  Wogan  said,  and 
whistled  thoughtfully.  This  untimely  arrival  threat- 
ened to  interfere  with  his  schemes.  He  was  think- 
ing busily,  while  O'Toole  continued : 

"Gaydon's  keeping  him  in  talk  for  the  moment, 
78 


THE   PRINCE  OF   NIEMEN   ARRIVES 

asking  him  the  latest  news  from  Vienna,  but  that 
cannot  last  long,  and  what  is  to  be  done  at  all  ?" 

While  O'Toole  was  gabbling  and  gasping,  Wogan 
had  already  made  up  his  mind.  "That's  easily 
answered,"  he  replied,  composedly.  "I  have  been 
Niemen  for  the  Englishman,  I  will  be  the  English- 
man for  Niemen.  Sure,  I  have  his  credentials  all 
right."  As  he  spoke  he  patted  his  breast-pocket, 
to  which  he  had  confided  the  precious  papers. 
"First  of  all,  let  us  get  rid  of  our  friend.  I 
expect  he  will  have  a  bit  of  a  headache  to-morrow, 
but  otherwise  he  will  be  none  the  worse." 

Under  the  steadying  influence  of  Wogan's  calm, 
O'Toole  succeeded  in  restraining  his  emotion.  Be- 
tween them  the  pair  lifted  the  unconscious  Eng- 
lishman from  his  seat  and  carried  him,  snoring 
heavily,  into  an  adjoining  room,  where  they  laid 
him  on  a  couch.  When  they  had  returned  to  the 
common-room  and  closed  the  door  upon  the  sense- 
less envoy,  O'Toole  again  questioned  his  com- 
panion. "Well,  what  next?"  he  asked. 

"Listen!"  Wogan  said,  earnestly.  "This  Prince 
will  possibly,  even  probably,  want  to  accompany 
me  to  Innspruck.  I  will  try  to  persuade  him  to  fol- 
low me.  If  I  fail—" 

He  paused,  and  O'Toole  repeated,  anxiously,  "If 
you  fail  ?" 

"Why,  then,"  Wogan  continued,  "as  I  can't  very 
well,  in  my  character  as  a  British  plenipotentiary, 
force  a  fight  upon  the  fellow,  do  you  think  one  of 

79 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

you  could  manage  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  this  un- 
pleasant gentleman  ?" 

O'Toole  laughed  joyously.  "Faith,"  he  an- 
swered, "it's  never  difficult  to  pick  a -quarrel." 

Wogan  looked  dubious.  "I  have  heard,"  he 
said,  "that  the  Prince  is  a  handy  man  with  the 
small-sword,  and  that  he  uses  it  after  the  Italian 
fashion,  which  is  disconcerting  to  gentlemen  un- 
familiar with  that  method." 

O'Toole  made  a  magnificent  gesture  of  disdain. 
"There  is  no  form  or  usage  of  the  sword,"  he  de- 
clared, "that  is  not  familiar  to  me.  Leave  the 
gentleman  in  my  hands  and  sleep  easy." 

Wogan  eyed  his  companion  doubtfully.  It  is 
possible  that  at  another  time  he  would  have  been 
less  ready  to  accept  O'Toole's  offer,  for  he  knew 
O'Toole's  nature  too  well  to  be  able  to  place  entire 
confidence  in  his  braggadocio;  but  he  knew  him 
also  for  a  good  swordsman,  and  he  had  in  his  ex- 
tremity to  take  the  chance.  "I  hope  so,"  he  said, 
slowly.  "However,  needs  must — you  know  the 
tag  of  the  adage." 

O'Toole  looked  at  him  with  a  grieved  expression 
on  his  ample  face.  "You  pain  me,  Charles,"  he 
protested.  "I've  passed  you  my  word  for  him." 

The  time  was  brief.  The  step  of  the  enemy 
could  already  be  heard  upon  the  stair.  Wogan 
drew  O'Toole  down  to  a  side  door  that  led  by  a 
small  stair  to  the  courtyard.  "Wait  below,"  he 
ordered.  "If  the  fellow  proves  obstinate,  I  must 

80 


THE    PRINCE   OF   NIEMEN   ARRIVES 

leave  him  to  you  and  the  others.  Wing  him,  kill 
him,  do  what  you  will  with  him  between  you,  but 
be  sure  that  he  stays  here." 

O'Toole  wrung  his  friend's  hands.  "Trust  me," 
he  promised,  emphatically;  "a  nod  is  as  good  as  a 
wink.  I'll  drill  him  as  full  of  holes  as  an  old  wife's 
colander." 

"  Get  out !"  Wogan  answered,  briefly.  He  pushed 
O'Toole  out  of  the  room,  hurriedly  returned  the 
masquerading  brandy  and  the  false  water  to  the 
cupboard  of  the  dresser,  and,  seating  himself  at  the 
table,  was  sipping  leisurely  a  glass  of  Hermitage 
when  the  door  opened  and  the  expected  enemy 
entered. 

His  Serene  Highness  the  Prince  of  Niemen 
was  no  longer  in  his  first  youth,  nor,  indeed,  in 
his  second  youth,  even  allowing  a  generous  mar- 
gin for  that  ecstatic  if  undefinable  period.  At 
no  time  can  he  have  been  accepted  as  comely, 
according  to  the  canons  of  comeliness  that  have, 
shall  we  say,  persisted  from  the  days  when  a  type 
of  beauty  was  admired  and  established  in  a  beauti- 
ful city  on  the  edge  of  a  beautiful  sea.  His  Serene 
Highness's  features  were  heavy,  his  Serene  High- 
ness's  complexion  was  of  a  dingy  paleness — he  was 
one  of  those  men  whom  habitual  intemperance  and 
incontinence  fail  to  flush — his  Serene  Highness's 
nose  was  overlong,  his  Serene  Highness's  chin  was 
overfull,  his  Serene  Highness's  eyes  were  over- 
bulging  for  general  acceptance,  general  admiration. 

ft] 


THE   KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

The  shell  might  have  been  forgiven  if  the  nature 
to  which  it  formed  an  envelope  had  been  other 
than  it  was.  But  his  Serene  Highness  had  a  spirit 
more  mischievous  even  than  his  exterior  could  sug- 
gest. Behind  those  bulging  eyes  of  his  there 
grinned  a  malicious  fiend.  Drink  and  debauchery 
had  degraded  the  strength  of  his  body  to  some 
degree,  but  the  mind  that  housed  in  his  hull  of 
flesh  was  one  that  neither  drink  nor  indulgence 
could  degrade.  It  began,  as  it  were,  at  the  bottom 
of  humanity's  ladder;  it  was  of  kin  with  the  sav- 
age, with  the  cave-man;  beneath  its  mark  of  mod- 
ishness,  its  trappings  of  silk  and  ribbon  and  lace,  it 
lurked  as  a  wild  beast  lurks  behind  cage -bars. 
Yet  he  carried  himself  with  a  courtly  manner,  aped 
from  the  gallants  of  France,  and  transmitted  tradi- 
tions of  ceremonious  generations  were  potent  enough 
to  lend  him  the  show  of  dignity. 

Wogan  rose  to  his  feet  and  saluted  the  stranger. 
"Have  I  the  honor,"  he  asked,  "to  address  his 
Serene  Highness  the  Prince  of  Niemen  ?" 

"Yes,"  the  Prince  answered,  and  questioned  in 
his  turn:  "Sir  Wynstock,  I  presume?" 

"Sir  Timothy  Wynstock,"  Wogan  corrected, 
courteously.  "I  have  the  honor  to  submit  to  your 
Highness  this  letter  from  my  Lord  Stanhope." 

As  he  spoke  he  handed  to  the  Prince  the  letter 
which  he  had  so  recently  extracted  from  the  pocket 
of  the  unconscious  Wynstock.  The  Prince  gravely 
seated  himself  with  a  gesture  to  Wogan  to  follow 

82 


THE   PRINCE   OF   NIEMEN    ARRIVES 

his  example — which  Wogan  promptly  did — opened 
the  letter,  read  it  slowly  through,  and  then  placed 
it  in  his  own  pocket. 

"Excellent!'*  he  said.  "And  now,  my  dear  Sir 
Wynstock — " 

Wogan  interrupted  him.  "A  thousand  pardons; 
Sir  Timothy  Wynstock,  Sir  Timothy." 

The  Prince  made  a  gesture  of  apology.  "Ah, 
so!  I  shall  never  understand  your  English  titles. 
And  now,  my  dear  Sir  Timothy,  what  is  the  next 
move  in  our  little  game  of  queen-catching  ?" 

"I  am  myself  about  to  proceed  to  Innspruck," 
Wogan  replied,  "to  lay  the  wishes  of  my  sovereign 
before  this  ill-advised  young  lady." 

The  Prince  looked  approval.  "Good,  good!" 
he  said.  "By  God!  I  will  go  with  you.  I  have 
left  my  servants  at  the  'Three  Kings'" — this  was 
the  great  inn  of  the  place — "to  meet  you  here  alone 
according  to  our  understanding.  They  will  be 
ready  to  start  whenever  you  please." 

This  declaration  was  not  at  all  to  Wogan's  taste, 
and  he  strove  against  it.  "  If  your  Highness  will 
forgive  me,"  he  suggested,  "I  think  it  would  be 
well  for  me  to  herald  you  and  prepare  the  way." 

Wogan's  proposal  did  not  appear  to  please  the 
Prince.  "Curse  it,  sir,"  he  protested,  "when  a 
man's  in  love  he  does  well  to  show  hot  blood.  Yes, 
I  will  ride  with  you  to  Innspruck.  Enough!" 

He  spoke  the  last  word  with  the  imperiousness 
of  one  accustomed  to  have  his  own  way.  Wogan, 

83 


THE    KING    OVER    THE    WATER 

seeing  that  it  was  useless  to  contend  further,  bowed 
acceptance.  "Your  Highness's  wish  is  my  law," 
he  said,  quietly.  He  prayed  in  his  heart  that 
O'Toole's  swordsmanship  might  be  inspired  that 
afternoon.  The  Prince  gave  a  nod  of  approval 
and  rose  to  his  feet,  as  if  to  suggest  that  the  inter- 
view was  at  an  end  and  that  they  might  well  be 

jogging- 

But  Wogan  had  more  to  say.  "With  your  High- 
ness's  permission,"  he  began,  "I  have,  on  behalf 
of  those  I  serve,  a  few  formal  questions  to  put  to 
you  with  regard  to  this  matter." 

The  Prince  seated  himself  again  and  took  snuff. 
"Speak,  sir,"  he  said,  proffering  the  box  to  Wogan. 

Wogan  took  a  pinch  and  went  on:  "I  am  in- 
structed to  inquire  whether  your  Highness  is 
troubled  by  any  scruples  as  to  your  part  in  this 
business  ?" 

The  Prince  raised  his  heavy  eyebrows  in  a  sneer- 
ing surprise.  "Scruples,  my  dear  Sir  Wynstock  ?" 
he  asked.  "What  the  devil  are  you  talking  about  ?" 

Wogan  explained:  "Why,  your  Highness  had 
better  know  that  there  are  a  number  of  persons, 
even  in  England,  who  regard  it  as  an  action  un- 
becoming of  a  gentleman  to  force  his  attentions 
upon  a  lady  against  that  lady's  will." 

The  Prince  shrugged  his  shoulders  contempt- 
uously. "My  good  sir,"  he  said,  lazily,  "there  are 
prudes  and  puritans  everywhere." 

Wogan  continued,  unheeding  the  Prince's  inter- 
84 


THE   PRINCE   OF   NIEMEN   ARRIVES 

ruption:  "It  seems  to  be  their  whimsical  opinion 
that  for  a  personage  of  your  Highness's  rank  to  lend 
himself  to  a  conspiracy  against  a  woman's  peace — 
I  am,  of  course,  only  using  their  words  —  and  so 
to  lend  himself  for  the  sake  of  a  money  bribe — 
their  very  offensive  phrase — is  to  play  the  part  of 
a  very  ill-conditioned  scoundrel — their  naughty 
language,  Highness." 

The  Prince  stared  at  the  speaker  as  if  he  thought 
he  had  taken  leave  of  his  senses.  "Pray,  sir,"  he 
asked,  "why  do  you  repeat  all  this  rigmarole  to 
me  ?" 

"Only,"  Wogan  replied,  quietly,  "that  your 
Highness  might  know  the  exact  position  of  affairs, 
and  if  he  felt  any  compunction,  any  reluctance,  for 
playing  the  part  for  which  we  pay  him,  we  should 
be  more  than  unwilling  to  press  him  to  act  against 
his  finer  feelings." 

The  Prince  frowned,  accentuating  the  native 
ugliness  of  his  countenance.  "Let  me  tell  you, 
Sir  Wynstock  Timothy,"  he  said,  harshly,  "that 
you  use  mighty  strange  language.  Are  you  back- 
ing out  of  this  business  ?" 

"Certainly  not,  your  Highness,"  Wogan  said, 
warmly.  "If  you  were  to  fail  us  we  should  find 
some  other  less  delicate — gentleman  to  serve  our 
turn.  I  only  wished  to  be  quite  sure  of  your  atti- 
tude toward  a  somewhat  unfortunate  young  lady." 

"You  may  be  quite  sure,  Sir  Wynstock  Timo- 
thy— "  the  Prince  began. 

85 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

But  Wogan  again  interrupted  him.  "Forgive 
me;  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock,"  he  corrected,  suavely. 

"Ah,  yes,"  the  Prince  admitted,  impatiently,  and 
returned  to  his  theme.  "You  may  be  quite  sure 
that  I  am  loyal,  hand,  head,  and  heart  to  a  govern- 
ment so  generous  as  the  government  you  represent. 
As  for  the  young  lady,  I  cannot  consider  her  as  un- 
fortunate in  becoming  my  consort.  If  I  may  say 
so  without  vainglory,  I  am  a  lady's  man." 

"And  the  woman,"  Wogan  suggested,  "is  to  be 
envied  who  earns  your  affections." 

"Precisely,"  the  Prince  agreed,  emphatically. 

Wogan  nodded.  "Now,  indeed,  we  understand 
each  other,"  he  said. 

"Excellent!"  the  Prince  approved.  "When  do 
we  set  out  ?" 

Wogan  answered  apologetically.  "I  have  some 
small  private  business  to  attend  to,"  he  pleaded. 
"In  an  hour's  time  I  will  attend  your  Highness  at 
the  bridge." 

The  Prince  seemed  impatient  of  delay.  "The 
ardor  of  a  lover,"  he  said,  "would  urge  me  to  im- 
mediate departure;  but  if  your  business  cannot  be 
postponed  I  will  meet  you  at  the  bridge  in  an 
hour's  time.  If  there  were  any  decent  drinking 
to  be  had  in  this  tavern,  I  might  amuse  myself  well 
enough,  but  I  suppose  that  it  is  not  to  be  hoped 
for,  and  that  I  had  better  return  to  the  'Three 
Kings.9" 

"Your  Highness,"  Wogan  replied,  reassuringly, 
86 


THE   PRINCE    OF   NIEMEN   ARRIVES 

"is  fortunately  mistaken.  Unpretentious  as  this 
place  is,  I  can  assure  you  its  cellars  shelter  some 
bottles  of  Hermitage  that  are  worthy  of  the  Em- 
peror's table." 

The  Prince's  eyes  gleamed.  "Do  you  say  so?" 
he  said.  "I  will  see  if  your  judgment  in  wine  is 
reliable." 

"I  think,"  Wogan  assured  him,  "your  Highness 
will  be  pleased.  In  an  hour,  then." 

"In  an  hour,"  the  Prince  agreed. 

Wogan  saluted  him  and  paused  with  his  hand  on 
the  door.  "  Ask  for  the  Green  Seal,"  he  said,  and 
vanished. 

The  Prince  slapped  the  table  loudly,  and  the 
landlord  appeared  in  prompt  obedience  to  the 
summons.  He  took  the  Prince's  instructions  to 
bring  up  a  couple  of  bottles  of  the  Green  Seal 
Hermitage  and  left  the  room. 

The  Prince  was  left  alone  to  his  reflections  for 
a  few  moments,  but  very  soon  those  reflections  were 
interrupted  by  the  arrival  of  more  company.  The 
Prince  looked  curiously  up,  to  see  that  a  couple  of 
gentlemen  in  the  uniform  of  Dillon's  regiment  had 
seated  themselves  at  a  window  -  table  and  were 
occupying  themselves  with  a  game  of  dominoes. 
With  one  of  them  he  remembered  having  exchanged 
some  words  on  his  arrival  at  the  inn.  He  gave 
them  no  further  heed,  and  a  moment  later  the  land- 
lord entered  the  room  with  the  wine  the  Prince  had 
ordered.  When  the  host  had  gone  the  door  of  the 

87 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

room  again  opened  and  another  person  came  in, 
a  big,  burly  giant  of  a  man  whose  size  attracted 
the  Prince's  attention,  for  he  had  a  liking  for  tall 
soldiers. 

The  new-comer,  who  also  was  habited  in  the 
uniform  of  Dillon's  reigment,  paused  for  a  moment, 
looking  round  the  room,  and  then  advanced  tow- 
ard the  table  where  the  Prince  faced  his  bottle  of 
Hermitage.  He  looked  fixedly  first  at  the  bottle, 
and  then  at  the  now  astonished  Prince. 

"I  think,"  O'Toole  said,  "there  is  some  mistake 
here.  That  is  the  Green  Seal  Hermitage." 

The  Prince  stared  sternly  at  his  interlocutor. 
"There  is  no  mistake,  sir,"  he  replied,  coldly.  "I 
ordered  the  Green  Seal  Hermitage." 

"And  there  you  made  a  mistake,"  O'Toole  re- 
plied. "The  Green  Seal  Hermitage  at  the  *  Blue 
Moon '  is  reserved  for  the  gentlemen  of  Dillon's 
when  they  visit  Strasbourgh,  and  I  do  not  think 
you  are  one  of  us." 

The  Prince  waved  a  perfumed  handkerchief  airily 
between  himself  and  O'Toole.  "My  good  sir," 
he  said,  composedly,  "this  is  a  public  inn,  and  its 
cellars  are  at  the  command  of  any  gentleman  who 
may  honor  it  with  his  presence.  I  have  ordered 
this  bottle  of  wine,  and  I  propose  to  drink  it.  I 
shall  do  so  with  greater  pleasure  if  you  will 
kindly  remove  your  abnormal  bulk  from  my  pres- 
ence." 

O'Toole  glared  furiously  at  the  Prince,    f'Do 


THE    PRINCE  OF  NIEMEN   ARRIVES 

you  mean  to  imply,"  he  asked,  angrily,  "that  the 
company  of  an  officer  of  Dillon's  regiment  is  dis- 
agreeable to  you  ?" 

"I  imply  nothing,"  the  Prince  said,  coolly.  "I 
assert  very  plainly  that  your  company  is  extremely 
disagreeable  to  me,  and  I  command  you  to  with- 
draw." 

O'Toole  struck  the  table  a  blow  with  his  first  that 
threatened  the  equilibrium  of  the  Hermitage,  and 
made  the  glasses  rattle.  "Sir,"  he  shouted  in  a 
whirlwind  voice,  "you  have  insulted  me,  and  I  de- 
mand immediate  satisfaction." 

The  Prince  looked  languidly  round  him,  glancing 
at  the  domino-players.  "Is  there  no  one  here  who 
can  remove  this  drunken  fellow?"  he  questioned. 

O'Toole's  simulated  rage  flamed  anew  at  the 
words,  and  without  more  ado  he  flicked  the  Prince 
lightly  in  the  face  with  his  glove.  Instantly  the 
Prince  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  instantly  also  the  two 
gentlemen  who  had  been  playing  dominoes  in  the 
corner  of  the  room  rose  quickly  and  came  between 
the  Prince  and  O'Toole.  Gaydon  and  Misset 
assured  the  offended  Prince  that  O'Toole  was  a 
gentleman  of  old  descent  and  an  officer  of  high 
standing  in  Dillon's  regiment,  and  that  there  could 
be  no  derogation  of  dignity  in  crossing  swords 
with  him.  Misset  offered  his  services  to  the  Prince 
as  second,  and  suggested  a  quiet  field  in  the  neigh- 
borhood which  would  serve  for  the  purpose  of  the 
encounter.  The  Prince,  who  had  quite  recovered 


THE   KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

his  momentarily  shaken  composure,  amiably  ac- 
cepted Misset's  offer.  Gaydon  volunteered  to  act 
as  second  for  O'Toole,  and  a  few  moments  later 
the  gentlemen  left  the  inn  together  in  the  direction 
of  the  river. 


VII 

THE    CARDINAL 

THE  Cardinal  Gualterio  was  a  man  who  very 
tranquilly  regarded  all  human  beings,  men 
and  women  alike,  whatever  their  seeming  rank  in 
life,  kings  or  beggars,  queens  or  harlots,  with  a 
democratic  eye  of  quality.  This  was  natural  enough 
in  a  great  prince  of  a  great  church  which  played  its 
great  part  still  in  the  government  of  the  world,  and 
if  it  could  no  longer  make  and  unmake  kings  and 
break  the  pride  of  emperors  in  an  open  display  of 
its  powers,  still  exercised  a  mighty  influence  upon 
the  course  of  European  affairs,  and  swayed  the 
destinies  of  states.  But  the  church  had  servants 
better  calculated  to  impress  a  sense  of  its  power 
and  majesty  upon  the  vulgar  mind  than  Cardinal 
Gualterio.  A  casual  observer  privileged  to  enter 
the  presence  of  the  Cardinal  would,  if  he  were  an 
unimaginative  person,  see  little  in  his  host  to  in- 
spire him  with  admiration,  enthusiasm,  awe,  or, 
indeed,  reverence,  other  than  that  essential  to  his 
rank.  The  Cardinal  was  neither  the  austere  type 
of  ecclesiastic  who  seemed  to  carry  to  a  later  day  the 
aim  of  Jerome  and  the  tradition  of  Anthony  nor  the 
7  91 


jovial,  overworldly  ecclesiastic  who  rivalled  the  mer- 
riest layman  in  gayety,  who  wore  the  colors  of  the 
church  as  no  more  than  a  glowing  uniform,  and 
who  was  in  his  social,  political,  and  mundane  opinions 
pretty  much  of  the  temper  of  the  Borgias.  Car- 
dinal Gualterio  was  a  man  of  middle  height,  of 
ample  but  not  uncomfortable  bulk,  smooth  of  skin 
and  something  slow  of  motion,  as  was  natural  in 
one  of  his  weight.  His  whole  plump  person 
seemed  to  breathe  amiability;  his  pink  face  carried 
scarcely  a  wrinkle,  except  when  its  habitual  smile 
deepened  into  a  laugh  and  puckered  the  flesh  about 
the  lips  and  at  the  eyes,  an  event  which  happened 
frequently,  for  the  Cardinal  was  given  to  a  frank 
indulgence  in  good-humored  mirth,  which  earned 
him  much  affection  from  the  many.  Everything, 
or  almost  everything,  that  happened  in  the  great 
drama  of  life  seemed  to  divert  him.  His  attitude 
was,  or  seemed  to  be,  like  that  of  a  child  that  is 
taken  to  a  playhouse  and  applauds  alike  the  tragedy 
and  the  comedy,  the  march  of  the  wars  and  the 
wooing  of  the  lovers,  the  trumpets  of  the  heroes 
and  the  kisses  of  the  sweethearts  —  seeing  in  the 
whole  thing  no  more  than  an  entertainment,  and 
conscious  at  the  back  of  his  brain  that  neither  the 
joys  nor  sorrows  which  he  witnesses  are  real.  The 
Cardinal  patently  took  the  most  kindly  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  those  with  whom  he  was  directly  con- 
cerned, but  he  always  showed  the  same  air  of 
genial  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  people  who  were 

92 


THE   CARDINAL 

only  brought  into  contact  with  him  for  a  brief, 
accidental  moment.  Many  of  these  latter  left  the 
Cardinal's  presence  with  a  sense  of  pleasure  at 
finding  that  a  great  man  could  be  so  affable,  and  a 
sense  of  wonder  that  so  affable  and  so  every-day  a 
man  could  attain  to  anything  like  greatness  in  the 
hierachy  of  the  church.  Indeed,  the  general  im- 
pression that  ruled  about  the  Cardinal  was  that  he 
was  a  very  worthy  personage  and  a  very  excellent 
churchman,  but  that  he  was  wanting  in  all  those 
greater  qualities  which  often  have  converted  princes 
of  the  church  into  powerful  statesmen.  The  Car- 
dinal was  perfectly  well  aware  of  the  popular  im- 
pression of  his  merits,  and  it  afforded  him  an  amount 
of  pleasure  that  at  times  seriously  rivalled  the  calm 
satisfaction  that  he  derived  in  his  moments  *of 
leisure — and  he  contrived  to  have  many  such  mo- 
ments— from  his  medals  and  statuas,  his  manu- 
scripts and  cameos,  his  bustos  and  basso-relievos 
and  inscribed  tablets. 

The  Cardinal  was  perfectly  well  aware  of  the 
impression  he  thus  created,  and  it  served  to 
amuse  him  as  the  rest  of  the  events  amused  him 
in  the  great  playhouse  of  existence,  where  he 
was  pleased  to  pretend  that  he  was  no  more  than 
a  mere  spectator,  while  all  the  time  he  was  pull- 
ing the  strings  of  many  mannikins.  Serenely  sure 
that  it  really  mattered  very  little  in  the  end  to  the 
great  institution  of  which  he  was  at  once  a  humble 
and  a  wonderful  servant  how  the  events  of  Europe 

93 


THE   KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

shaped  themselves,  what  king  triumphed  here  or 
failed  yonder,  what  favorite  flattered  and  ambled, 
what  partisan  sundered  territories,  or  what  politi- 
cian planned  and  schemed,  he  was  able  to  smile 
placidly  where  the  less  indifferent  could  only  frown 
futilely.  He  asserted  freely  enough  that  the  power 
of  his  house  was  not  of  this  world,  and  that  human 
concerns  of  the  baser  sort  were  indifferent  to  him. 
What  he  really  meant  when  he  said  this  was  that 
he  was  convinced  that  the  strength  of  the  church 
he  served  lay  not  so  much  in  its  direct  and  visible 
power  over  the  pawns  of  the  political  game  as  in 
its  ever-persisting,  ever-widening  influence  among 
the  peoples  of  the  earth.  He  was  a  prince  of  the 
church,  indeed,  and  it  diverted  him  to  play  with 
temporal  princes;  but  he  believed  in  his  heart  that 
the  power  of  that  church  was  based  upon  the 
democracy.  In  the  mean  time,  however,  princes 
were  the  order  of  the  day,  and  James  Stuart  was  one 
of  the  princes  who  came  into  his  game,  and  the  busi- 
ness of  James  Stuart  brought  Charles  Wogan  to 
the  Cardinal's  knowledge. 

If  the  Cardinal  had  not  been  too  wise  to  hamper 
his  life  by  the  formation  of  likings  he  would  have 
admitted  to  himself,  if  not  to  others,  that  he  liked 
Wogan.  There  was  something  in  the  man's  direct 
simplicity,  in  his  courage,  his  coolness,  and  his  hu- 
mor that  appealed  very  keenly  to  that  fighting 
strain  in  the  Cardinal's  composition  which  he  in- 
herited from  a  belligerent  ancestry.  The  Cardinal 

94 


THE   CARDINAL 

himself  was  convinced  that  the  affairs  of  the  world 
are  finally  to  be  settled  by  wise  men,  preferably 
ecclesiastics,  who  sit  quietly  in  comfortable  rooms 
and  pull  the  strings  that  direct  the  puppets,  whether 
the  puppets  be  princes  or  peasants,  emperors  or 
shepherds.  But  he  liked  the  men  of  Wogan's  type 
for  whom  life  is  a  bivouac  and  the  world  a  battle- 
ground for  chivalrous  gentlemen  to  whom  a  cause 
is  everything,  and  their  own  concerns  little  or 
nothing.  Of  such  men  the  Cardinal  had  never 
met  a  better  example  than  Wogan,  and  the  even 
temperature  of  his  heart  warmed  a  little  in  Wogan's 
company,  and  he  listened  with  approval  to  Wogan's 
plans  and  amiably  commended  Wogan's  en- 
thusiasm. 

The  Cardinal  was  an  astute  man,  and  he  was  not 
overconfident  of  the  success  of  the  Stuart  cause. 
He  knew  England  and  the  English  people  better 
than  most  other  men  in  Italy,  and  the  failure  of  the 
rising  in  1715  had  impressed  him  more  seriously, 
because  he  happened  to  be  better  informed,  than 
it  impressed  many  who  desired  a  Stuart  restoration 
too  ardently  to  recognize  uncomfortable  realities. 
But  if  he  was  not  confident  where  others  were  over- 
confident, he  was  quite  willing  that  nothing  should 
be  left  undone  that  might  bring  about  a  consum- 
mation desirable  in  itself.  He  had  heartily  ap- 
proved, therefore,  of  the  marriage  which  Wogan 
had  proposed  for  his  royal  master,  and  he  was  now 
equally  prepared  to  approve  of  the  methods  sug- 

95 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

gested  by  Wogan  for  carrying  out  that  marriage 
in  the  teeth  of  an  opposition  headed  by  an  em- 
peror and  a  king.  The  Cardinal  had  a  fancy  for 
fairy  tales,  and  the  mental  picture  of  Wogan  from 
Ireland  pitting  himself  against  a  couple  of  great 
powers  tickled  him  as  his  infantile  wits  had  been 
tickled  by  stories  of  giant-killers. 

If  Wogan's  plan  succeeded  it  afforded  the  exiled 
Stuart  another  aid  toward  the  regaining  of  his  lost 
kingdom,  and  Cardinal  Gualterio  was  as  anxious 
as  any  of  James's  partisans  to  see  a  third  of  the 
name  seated  upon  the  throne  of  England.  If 
Wogan's  plan  miscarried,  it  would  be  treated  as 
the  independent  adventure  of  a  wild-hearted,  wild- 
headed,  irresponsible  Irish  privateer  who  could  be 
readily  disclaimed  by  those  in  authority,  and  who 
very  certainly  would  never  resent  the  disclaimer. 
Therefore  the  Cardinal  gave  Wogan  and  Wogan's 
enterprise  his  blessing,  and  Wogan  came  and  went 
across  Europe  in  the  furtherance  of  his  design,  re- 
turning time  and  again  to  the  presence  of  the 
Cardinal  to  report  the  progress  of  his  scheme. 
One  of  the  first  steps  to  be  taken  was  to  obtain  the 
consent  of  the  Prince  of  Poland  to  the  device  for 
his  daughter's  evasion,  a  consent  which  to  Wogan's 
great  delight  he  obtained,  though  with  no  little 
difficulty. 

While  the  Chevalier  Wogan  was  absent  on  his  mis- 
sion to  the  Prince  of  Poland  there  came  on  a  day  of 
December  in  that  year,  1718,  a  letter  to  Cardinal  Gu- 

96 


THE   CARDINAL 

alterio  in  his  palace  at  Rome.  His  Eminence  was  the 
daily  recipient  of  numerous  letters,  many  of  which 
annoyed,  some  of  which  amused,  and  a  few  of  which 
interested  him.  Among  his  budget  on  this  Decem- 
ber day  he  chanced  to  find  a  letter  which  afforded 
him  both  interest  and  amusement.  His  secretary, 
Eusebio,  had  submitted  it  to  his  Eminence  with  a 
smile,  and  on  the  Cardinal's  command  proceeded 
to  read  it  aloud. 

The  letter  was  written  from  Trent  by  one  un- 
known to  his  Eminence.  The  writer  asserted  him- 
self to  be  Edward  Baron  de  Winquitz  and  to  be  a 
Swedish  captain  of  cavalry.  The  Swedish  gentle- 
man, after  many  preliminary  assurances  of  his  re- 
spect for  his  Eminence  and  his  devotion  to  the 
exiled  Majesty  of  Britain,  gave  it  very  decidedly  as 
his  opinion  that  the  negotiations  attempted  by  the 
Papal  See  with  the  court  of  Austria  for  the  purpose 
of  effecting  the  liberation  of  the  Princess  Clementina 
Sobieski  would  prove  of  no  avail.  The  valorous 
Swede  appeared,  indeed,  to  have  a  poor  opinion  of 
diplomatic  negotiations.  The  Cardinal  smilingly 
appreciated  in  every  line  of  his  letter  the  martial 
spirit  that  was  all  for  the  sword,  and  the  Baron's 
orthography  made  it  very  plain  that  he  had  a  poor 
opinion  of  the  pen.  He  was  convinced  that  in  the 
clash  of  political  forces  and  the  ingenious  adjust- 
ment of  states  against  states  lay  a  solution  of  the 
knotty  problem  of  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe. 

As  for  the  immediate  matter  in  hand — namely, 
97 


THE   KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

the  captivity  of  the  Princess  Clementina — Winquitz 
was  all  for  a  bold  handshake,  and  he  made  it  plain 
that  he  conceived  himself  to  t>e  the  man  to  deliver  the 
daring  blow,  and  that  he  placed  himself  entirely  at 
his  Eminence's  service.  He  assured  the  Cardinal 
that  he  was  at  any  moment  prepared  to  effect  the 
liberation  of  the  Princess  Clementina  from  her 
prison  at  Innspruck  by  force  of  arms,  if  only  he 
were  provided  by  his  Eminence  with  funds  sufficient 
for  the  purpose.  In  other  words,  he  was  on  his 
own  showing  a  knight-errant  of  the  best,  and  being, 
as  was  consistent  with  the  ordinances  of  knight- 
errantry,  a  man  of  no  great  means,  he  needed  the 
subsidy  to  make  his  chivalry  a  working  fact.  He 
gave  the  Cardinal  some  particulars  of  exalted  friend- 
ships he  had  formed  in  Trent  to  serve  as  a  guaranty 
for  his  good  faith.  He  assured  the  Cardinal  that 
when  once  a  Swedish  gentleman  had  pledged  his 
devotion  to  a  cause  he  was  never  to  be  turned 
away  from  it,  and  that  for  his  own  part  he  was  pre- 
pared to  shed  the  last  drop  of  his  blood  in  the  ser- 
vice of  his  much-wronged  Britannic  Majesty. 

When  the  reading  had  concluded  the  Cardinal 
turned  to  Eusebio  with  a  smile,  and  asked  him  if 
he  had  ever  heard  of  the  intrepid  gentleman.  The 
secretary  shook  his  head.  The  world  of  Europe 
swarmed  with  Northern  gentlemen,  gallant  or  un- 
gallant  soldiers  of  fortune,  all  with  names  that 
sounded  harsh  to  Italian  ears  and  proved  difficult 
for  Italian  memories.  The  secretary,  however,  in- 

98 


THE   CARDINAL 

formed  his  Eminence  that  the  names  cited  by  the 
Baron  as  friends  of  his  were  names  of  gentlemen 
of  old  descent  and  high  standing  in  Trent  and 
counted  among  the  most  eminent  of  the  many  per- 
sons that  were  privileged  to  carry  the  title  of  the 
Prince  of  Thun. 

The  Cardinal  mused  for  a  little  space,  playing 
as  he  did  so  with  an  antique  dagger  of  exquisite 
workmanship  that  had  once  belonged  to  Caesar 
Borgia.  After  a  while  he  spoke  to  his  secretary. 

"We  do  not  know,"  he  said,  "what  manner  of 
man  this  Swedish  baron  may  be,  but  I  am,  com- 
pelled at  least  to  agree  with  him  in  his  disbelief  in 
the  success  of  our  negotiations  for  the  liberation  of 
the  unhappy  Princess.  But  that  matter  is  in  the 
hands  of  a  gentleman  in  whom  King  James  has 
every  confidence,  the  Chevalier  Wogan,  and  even 
if  we  were  very  sure  that  this  gentleman  from  the 
North  were  all  he  represents  himself  to  be,  it  would 
not  be  fair  to  the  Chevalier  to  employ  another  in 
the  enterprise  on  which  he  is  engaged.  Also,  this 
gentleman  may  be  a  spy  that  offers  his  services  in 
the  hope  of  finding  out  what  we  ourselves  would  be 
at  in  the  matter." 

Eusebio  ventured  to  observe  that  he  thought  he 
discerned  a  note  of  candor  and  frankness  in  the 
letter  which  contradicted  the  likelihood  of  the 
writer  being  a  spy,  and  the  Cardinal,  still  playing 
with  his  dagger,  admitted  that  he  agreed.  It  was 
finally  decided  that  the  secretary  should  write  to 

99  ' 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

the  Baron  a  non-committing  letter,  and  that  they 
should  wait  until  the  return  of  the  Chevalier  Wogan 
and  let  him  know  of  the  gentleman's  curious  pro- 
posal. Thereupon  the  secretary  drafted  such  a  let- 
ter, which  was  duly  dispatched,  and  thereafter  the 
Cardinal  dismissed  the  Baron  from  his  thoughts, 
although  not  from  his  memory. 

When  Wogan  on  his  return  from  his  successful 
visit  to  the  Prince  of  Poland,  early  in  1719,  heard 
from  the  Cardinal  of  the  valorous  Swede's  proposal, 
he  instantly  made  up  his  mind  to  have  an  inter- 
view with  the  gentleman  and  see  what  might  be 
made  of  him.  It  was  Wogan's  way  in  any  enter- 
prise never  to  neglect  any  opportunity,  and  he 
thought  it  possible  that  this  Swede  might  prove 
useful.  Whenever  Wogan  decided  to  do  a  thing 
he  did  it,  if  possible,  at  once,  and  therefore  he  lost 
no  time  in  riding  posthaste  to  Trent  and  waiting 
upon  the  Baron. 

Wogan  found  the  Baron  taking  the  air  in  the 
garden  of  the  villa  of  the  Prince  of  Thun,  and  pre- 
sented to  him  the  letter  which  he  carried  from  the 
Cardinal,  a  letter  which  said  little  more  than  that 
the  bearer  would  explain  his  purpose.  While  the 
Baron  studied  the  letter  Wogan  studied  the  Baron. 
He  found  the  Baron  very  much  what  he  had  ex- 
pected to  find  him,  a  somewhat  showy,  exuberant 
swashbuckler  that  was  a  trifle  too  fond  of  his  sword 
to  lend  its  services  for  nothing,  but  that  might  be 
relied  upon  to  earn  his  pay  when  he  was  once  en- 

100 


THE   CARDINAL 

gaged.  His  intimacy  with  the  Prince  of  Thun 
might  possibly  prove  to  be  slightly  exaggerated,  but 
Wogan  could  readily  understand  that  the  Swede's 
persistent  heartiness  of  manner  and  bluff  good- 
humor  might  make  any  gentleman,  with  a  taste  for 
characters,  tolerate  readily  enough  his  companion- 
ship. He  did  not,  however,  commend  himself  to 
Wogan  as  an  ally  in  his  special  enterprise.  Wogan 
had  made  up  his  mind  as  to  the  men  he  wanted  for 
his  companions,  men  whom  he  knew  thoroughly, 
men  on  whom  he  could  confidently  rely,  men  of 
his  own  race. 

When  the  Baron  had  read  the  letter  he  twisted 
his  mustaches  to  a  fiercer  curl  and  looked  steadily 
at  Wogan.  Wogan  explained  his  position,  and 
expressed  his  regret  that,  as  means  had  been  al- 
ready taken  to  effect  the  liberation  of  the  Princess, 
the  Cardinal  would  be  unable  to  avail  himself  of 
the  Baron's  offer.  At  this  the  Baron  looked  hugely 
disappointed  and  allowed  himself  to  show  his 
vexation  with  some  freedom.  "  It  was  a  monstrous 
thing,"  he  protested,  "that  a  soldier  and  a  gentle- 
man having  resolved  upon  an  admirable  enterprise 
should  be  thus  thwarted  by  a  malign  destiny." 
Seeing,  however,  in  the  expression  on  Wogan's  face 
that  Wogan  was  not  likely  long  to  endure  the 
Baron's  tirades,  he  hastened  to  explain  that  he,  of 
course,  exonerated  his  visitor  from  any  share  in 
the  discomfiture  that  had  come  to  him. 

When  the  Baron's  first  ebullition  of  irritation 
101 


THE   KING   OVER    THE    WATER 

had  ceased,  Wogan,  who  had  some  sympathy  for 
the  man  for  having  wished  to  make  his  attempt, 
suggested  that  the  Baron  might  still  be  of  service 
in  the  matter.  On  hearing  this  the  Swede  bright- 
ened up  considerably  and  asked  if  Wogan  intended 
to  take  him  with  him  on  his  enterprise.  Wogan 
explained,  politely  but  definitely,  that  this  was  im- 
possible; ^hathis  plan  for  its  proper  execution  needed 
as  few  persons  as  possible,  and  that  those  persons  had 
already  been  chosen.  He  pointed  out  that  so  long 
as  they  were  in  the  Emperor's  dominions,  the  fewer 
the  number  of  those  that  took  part  in  the  adven- 
ture the  less  likely  they  were  to  attract  observation. 
The  Baron's  face  again  fell,  but  he  recovered 
something  of  his  earlier  equanimity  when  Wogan 
told  him  that  there  was  a  way  in  which  he  proposed 
to  make  use  of  his  services.  Once  he  and  his  party 
had  crossed  the  Austrian  frontier  and  were  in  the 
dominion  of  the  State  of  Venice  they  were  theoreti- 
cally in  safety.  The  authority  of  the  Austrian 
Emperor  did  not  legally  extend  an  inch  beyond  the 
frontier  line,  but  as  Wogan  observed,  the  limitations 
of  frontier  lines  and  strict  legality  of  action  were 
not  always  observed,  and  it  might  be  well  to  pre- 
pare for  any  possibility.  Wogan,  therefore,  made 
to  the  Baron  a  suggestion  which  he  had  considered 
on  his  way  to  Trent,  and  resolved  to  broach  to  his 
potential  ally  if  he  found  him  at  all  to  his  liking. 
This  was  the  scheme  the  details  of  which  served 
later  to  allay  the  disquietude  of  Misset  at  the  meet- 

102 


THE   CARDINAL 

ing  in  the  "  Blue  Moon."  Wogan  proposed  that 
the  Baron,  under  pretence  of  forming  a  hunting- 
party,  should  raise  a  little  force  of  armed  men  and 
keep  them  waiting  in  readiness  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  frontier  between  the  States  of  Venice  and 
the  Austrian  Empire,  so  that  when  he  arrived  with 
his  precious  charge  he  might  find  an  armed  force 
ready  to  escort  and  to  insure  her  against  pursuit 
and  attempt  of  capture. 

The  Baron  was  patently  not  pleased  at  having  to 
play  so  second-rate  a  part  in  a  conspiracy  of  which  he 
had  hoped  to  be  a  leader.  But  the  disappointment 
dwindled  before  the  comfortable  sum  of  money 
which  Wogan  was  able  to  present  to  him,  and  the 
promise  of  another  sum  no  less  comfortable  at  the 
end  of  the  enterprise.  It  was  arranged  between 
them,  therefore,  that  after  a  given  date  the  Baron's 
little  army  was  to  be  on  the  alert  day  and  night, 
ready  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  the  adventurers 
on  the  first  summons.  The  bargain  thus  con- 
cluded, Wogan  shared  a  hasty  meal  with  the  Baron 
at  the  local  inn,  declining  for  reasons  of  discretion 
to  be  presented  to  the  Baron's  host  and  share  his 
table.  The  meal  dispatched,  he  mounted  his  horse 
and  rode  back  again  as  swiftly  as  his  beast  could 
carry  him  to  the  place  whence  he  had  come,  re- 
counted his  action,  and  received  the  approval  of 
the  Cardinal.  His  next  step  was  to  travel  to  Scele- 
stat  and  seek  an  interview  that  gained  him  the  de- 
sired leaves  of  absence  Tor  his  three  friends. 

103 


VIII 

THE   PRISONER   OF   INNSPRUCK 

THE  news  of  the  capture  of  the  Princess  Clem- 
entina delighted  the  instigators  of  the  deed, 
and  profoundly  irritated  those  whom  the  act  was 
meant  to  annoy;  but  it  had  little  or  no  effect  upon 
the  rest  of  Europe.  In  Paris  the  gallants  agreed 
cheerfully  that  the  Emperor  was  no  gentleman,  and 
spoke  their  minds  with  a  freedom  only  equalled  by 
its  security  concerning  the  manners,  customs,  mis- 
tresses, and  personal  appearance  of  the  Elector  of 
Hanover.  In  London  The  Bellman,  a  daily  news- 
sheet  that  attempted  to  rekindle  the  perished  fires 
of  The  Tatler  and  the  Spectator,  devoted  what  its 
editor,  the  ingenious  Mr.  Grouch,  believed  to  be  a 
diverting  essay  to  the  subject.  In  this  edifying  skit 
his  Majesty  King  James  the  Third  appeared  under 
the  whimsical  appellation  of  King  Janus,  a  direct 
descendant  of  Mr.  Facing  -  both  -  ways,  and  the 
daughter  of  the  Sobieskis  was  delicately  and  grace- 
fully nicknamed  the  Princess  Calamity.  The  paper 
had  some  success  in  the  coffee-houses,  and  was  the 
direct  cause  of  a  duel  between  Sir  Pompey  Synge, 
M.P.,  who  was  reading  it  aloud  at  the  Cocoa-Tree 

104 


with  much  gusto,  and  young  Roger  Mornington 
(commonly  called  Marquess  of  Highbridges),  who 
interrupted  him  by  whistling,  mightily  out  of  tune, 
"The  Twenty-ninth  of  May."  The  parties  duly 
met,  with  the  result  that  Sir  Pompey  nursed  a  per- 
forated forearm  for  some  weeks  at  Synge  Hall, 
and  young  Highbridges  took  a  prolonged  holiday 
on  the  Continent.  In  Vienna  nobody  said  any- 
thing, and  in  the  rest  of  the  capitals  anybody  said 
anything  he  pleased  without  appreciable  result. 

In  his  own  domain  Prince  Sobieski,  of  course, 
protested  loudly  against  an  act  that  was  as.  unjust 
as  it  was  dishonorable,  but  Prince  Sobieski  was  a 
potentate  of  small  importance,  and  the  Emperor 
of  Austria  was  far  more  anxious  to  keep  in  the 
good  graces  of  the  reigning  King  of  England  than  to 
satisfy  the  just  claims  of  an  unimportant  princeling. 
The  friends  and  adherents  of  James  Stuart  every- 
where were  mighty  angry  at  an  affront  which  they 
were  powerless,  if  not  to  resent,  at  least  to  revenge. 
But  the  exiled  King  had  no  allies  who  might  con- 
sider it  worth  their  while  to  interfere  actively  on 
his  behalf.  It  was  not  worth  disturbing  the  peace 
of  Europe  because  the  daughter  of  a  petty  prince 
was  restrained  from  marrying  a  man  who  called 
himself,  ineffectually  enough,  King  of  England. 
So  Sobieski  stormed  and  the  Prince's  adherents 
grumbled  to  no  purpose,  and  the  Princess  remained 
in  the  Tyrolese  captivity,  fretting  her  heart  out, 
and  growing,  she  felt  convinced,  daily  more  pas- 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

sionately  devoted  to  the  monarch   she  had  never 
seen. 

Apart  from  the  actual  indignity  of  arrest  and 
imprisonment,  Princess  Clementina's  condition  at 
Innspruck  was  not  one  of  special  hardship  or  dis- 
comfort. She  had  the  companionship  of  her 
mother;  she  had  the  society  of  her  women;  she 
had  the  services  of  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux;  she 
was  treated  with  the  respect  due  to  a  lady  of  royal 
birth,  and  except  for  the  fact  that  she  was  not  al- 
lowed to  take  the  key  of  the  fields,  she  was  almost 
as  comfortably  housed  as  if  she  were  at  home  in 
her  familiar  Ohlau.  But  the  Princess  had  an  eager 
and  imperious  spirit,  and  she  would  have  hated 
as  fiercely  a  confinement  more  easy  or  more  severe. 
It  was  the  being  restrained  that  maddened  her. 
She  was  young;  she  was  impulsive;  she  very 
naturally  wanted  to  have  things  her  own  way. 
She  seemed  to  be  going  to  freedom  and  exaltation 
when  she  set  out  upon  the  journey  that  was  in- 
tended to  end  in  making  her  Queen  of  England, 
and  now  here  she  was  shut  up  in  a  petty  dwelling 
in  a  petty  town,  with  no  prospect  of  liberation  be- 
fore her.  Doubtless,  if  she  were  willing  to  surren- 
der to  the  wishes  of  the  Elector  of  Hanover  as  the 
Austrian  Emperor  had  already  surrendered  to  him, 
if  she  would  but  consent  to  forego  the  arranged 
alliance  with  the  exiled  Stuart,  she  would  have 
gained  her  liberty  speedily  enough.  Clementina 
would  not  for  a  moment  entertain  the  idea  of  free- 

106 


THE    PRISONER   OF   INNSPRUCK 

dom  on  such  conditions.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
warlike  Sobieskis,  and  her  proud  temper  resented 
hotly  the  arrogant  brutality  that  had  presumed  to 
interfere  by  force  with  her  marriage.  In  this  deter- 
mination she  had  the  support  alike  of  her  father 
and  her  mother,  who  believed  that  in  time  the 
Emperor  of  Austria  must,  for  very  shame's  sake,  set 
the  girl  free,  and  who  were  not  willing  to  lose  the 
chance  which  had  so  pleasantly  presented  itself  of  see- 
ing a  kingly  crown  placed  upon  their  daughter's  head. 
The  room  in  the  house  at  Innspruck  in  which 
the  Princess  Clementina  passed  her  waking  hours 
was  in  appearance  as  comfortable  as  if  it  had  been 
one  of  the  rooms  in  her  father's  palace.  But  if 
it  had  been  vastly  more  comfortable  than  it  was, 
and  vastly  more  beautiful  and  vastly  more  luxuri- 
ously appointed,  it  would  have  seemed  to  the 
Princess  more  hateful  than  the  single  room  of  the 
meanest  hovel  in  her  father's  estates,  for  it  was 
a  room  in  a  house  at  Innspruck,  and  it  meant 
captivity,  a  condition  perculiarly  irksome  to  a  high- 
hearted young  lady.  Clementina  had  to  admit  to 
her  reason  that  General  Heister,  Governor  of  Inn- 
spruck, performed  the  task  which  had  been  forced 
upon  him  by  the  Emperor  with  as  much  courtesy 
and  consideration  for  her  welfare  as  was  consistent 
with  the  carrying  out  of  his  charge,  but  Clementina 
instinctively  regarded  him  as  no  better  than  an  ogre, 
and  the  walls  which  encompassed  her  as  a  miserable 
den. 

8  107 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

Clementina  had  consented  to -the  marriage  with 
the  exiled  King  of  England  willingly  enough.  Her 
young  imagination  had  been  fired  by  romantic  ac- 
counts of  the  valiant  and  unhappy  gentleman  who 
was  so  unfairly  kept  from  his  own,  and  who  had  so 
lately  endeavored,  sword  in  hand,  to  win  back  the 
crown  of  his  fathers.  It  may  have  been,  indeed  it 
must  have  been,  that  the  possibility  of  that  ancestral 
crown  again  resting  on  the  young  head  of  the  Chev- 
alier de  St.  George  had  something  of  the  influence 
upon  the  Princess's  mind  which  it  undoubtedly  ex- 
ercised upon  the  mind  of  her  parents.  There  be 
few  young  princesses  who  would  not  choose  to  be  a 
queen,  and  to  be  Queen  of  England  would  be,  in- 
deed, a  very  delightful  dignity.  But  with  Clemen- 
tina the  romance  of  the  matter  had  counted  for  most 
in  her  decision,  as  far  as  her  decision  was  taken  into 
consideration,  and  now  her  willingness  to  become 
the  wife  of  James  Stuart  was  intensified  into  an 
eager  desire  by  the  unexpected  obstacle  to  her  mar- 
riage. To  be  stopped  on  the  way  to  meet  her  lover 
and  suitor,  to  be  immured  in  a  dungeon — for  so  she 
persisted  in  regarding  her  dwelling  at  Innspruck 
— and  to  be  assured  that  under  no  conditions  would 
she  be  liberated  again  until  she  had  agreed  to  re- 
nounce the  man  whom  she  now  assured  herself  she 
devotedly  loved,  all  these  things  made  her  vehe- 
mently eager  to  be  free  and  resolutely  resolved  not 
to  abandon  the  Chevalier. 

With  a  mind  in  this  distraught  and  angry  condi- 
108 


THE   PRISONER   OF   INNSPRUCK 

tion,  the  Princess  Clementina  found  the  long,  in- 
creasing days  of  her  captivity  grow  more  and  more 
hateful.  She  was  not  at  all  jealously  guarded, 
and  she  was  permitted  to  take  the  air  when  she 
pleased  in  the  gardens  of  her  residence.  She  had 
the  society  of  her  women,  and  might  have  the 
society  of  the  Governor  as  much  as  she  pleased. 
As,  however,  she  assured  herself  that  she  detested 
that  worthy  and  harassed  gentleman,  she  saw  no 
more  of  him  than  the  conditions  made  unavoid- 
able. 

On  a  certain  evening  in  the  bitterly  wintry  spring 
of  the  year  1719  the  Princess  Clementina  was  seated 
at  her  window  looking  out  wistfully  upon  the  pros- 
pect illuminated  by  the  slowly  setting  sun.  Her 
mother  was  not  present,  being  confined  to  her  room 
by  an  indisposition  brought  on  by  the  circumstances 
of  her  captivity.  Her  only  companions  were  two  of 
her  women.  One  of  these  was  seated  at  a  little 
harpsichord  and  accompanying  the  other,  who  was 
singing  softly  one  of  those  pathetic,  melancholy  lit- 
tle Polish  love-songs  that  are  so  poignantly  appealing 
in  their  minor  key.  This  was  the  song: 

A  redbird  sang  at  my  garden-gate 
As  jolly  a  song  as  a  soul  could  hear 

Of  splendid  fortune  and  friendly  fate, 
Kinder  and  blither  from  year  to  year; 

But  just  as  the  heart  of  my  heart  was  gay 

The  redbird  flew  away. 
109 


A  bluebird  sang  at  my  cottage  door 

A  tale  of  love  and  a  lover  true 
To  woo  me  and  win  me  and  love  me  more 

Year  after  year  as  the  suns  renew; 
But  just  as  the  heart  of  my  heart  was  gay 
The  bluebird  flew  away. 

A  blackbird  sang  at  my  window-sill 

The  knell  of  pleasure,  the  dirge  of  bliss, 

The  fleeting  good,  the  abiding  ill, 

Woe  for  the  world  that  is  made  amiss; 

And  though  I  was  eager  to  drive  it  away, 

The  blackbird  chose  to  stay. 

For  a  while  the  Princess  had  seemed  unconscious 
of  the  song  and  the  singer,  but  as  the  song  came  to 
an  end  Clementina  gave  a  little  sigh  and  turned 
from  her  contemplation  of  the  world  outside  her 
prison.  "That  is  a  sad  song,  sweet  voice,"  she  said. 

The  girl  Sacha  turned  and  made  the  Princess  a 
respectful  salutation.  "Your  Highness's  forgive- 
ness," she  pleaded. 

Clementina  smiled  sadly.  "  I  do  not  blame  you," 
she  said.  "  Birds  in  cages  should  never  sing  merrily. 
They  should  only  drone  dirges  for  their  liberty."  She 
flung  herself  wearily  upon  the  sofa  and  yawned. 

The  girl  Nadia,  she  that  had  been  playing  the 
harpsichord,  tried  to  divert  her  mood,  and  asked  her, 
"Will  your  Highness  play  cards?" 

Clementina  shook  her  head.  Sacha  suggested  a 
game  of  chess  and  met  with  no  better  acceptance. 

1 10 


THE  PRISONER   OF   INNSPRUCK 

"What  will  amuse  your  Highness  ?"  Nadia  asked, 
in  a  voice  of  despair. 

Clementina  roused  herself  a  little.  "There  is 
only  one  thing  that  could  amuse  me,"  she  protested, 
"and  that  is  my  freedom." 

Sacha  and  Nadia  sighed  heavily,  and  there  was 
silence  for  an  instant,  a  silence  suddenly  and  sharply 
broken  by  Clementina,  now  roused  from  her  apathy 
to  the  fierce  sense  of  her  wrongs. 

"What  a  crazy  world  it  is!"  she  cried,  apostro- 
phizing an  indifferent  ceiling.  "Here  is  a  tame  and 
patient  maid  that  has  a  mate  named  for  her  by  her 
parents.  She  goes  forth,  obediently  and  quietly,  to 
be  married  to  the  man  that  her  masters  have  chosen, 
and  an  old  ogre  that  calls  himself  Emperor  of 
Austria  stops  my  journey  and  shuts  me  up  in  a 
dungeon  because,  for  some  reason  or  other,  he  dis- 
approves of  my  nuptials." 

Sacha  made  a  smiling  protest.  "Come,  madam," 
she  said,  humorously,  as  she  glanced  round  the  rich- 
ly furnished  apartment,  "this  is  scarcely  a  dungeon." 

Clementina  frowned  reproval  of  her  levity  and 
spoke  fiercely*  "Were  it  walled  with  gold,"  she 
declared,  "were  it  starred  with  jewels,  it  would  still 
be  a  dungeon  for  me.  I  come  of  a  race  that  loves 
liberty.  I  cannot  breathe  free  in  a  gilded  captivity." 
Nadia  and  Sacha  sighed  discreetly  in  sympathy  with 
her  passion.  Nadia  spoke.  "Are  you  so  much  in 
love  with  King  James,"  the  girl  asked,  "that  delay 


vexes  you  ?' 


in 


Clementina  rose  to  her  feet  impatiently  and  be- 
gan walking  restlessly  up  and  down  the  room  while 
she  answered.  "I  am  in  love  with  the  open  air," 
she  cried,  fiercely,  "with  the  free  sky,  with  the  power 
to  ride  east  or  west,  north  or  south,  as  my  fancy 
whistles.  What  right  have  they  to  keep  me  prisoner 
here  ?  If  my  father  was  a  great  king  instead  of  a 
poor  prince  they  would  not  dare  this  insolence!" 

Nadia  sighed  again.  "Why  not  do  as  they  wish," 
she  suggested,  "and  give  your  word  not  to  marry 
James  Stuart  ?" 

"After  all,"  Sacha  suggested,  supporting  her 
friend,  "you  have  never  seen  him,  and  a  lover  that 
one  has  never  seen  is  as  good  or  as  bad  as  no  lover 
at  all." 

The  flame  of  Clementina's  indignation  increased 
with  the  vain  efforts  of  her  women  to  assuage  it. 
"I  have  given  my  word  to  an  exiled  gentleman," 
she  said,  hotly.  "Why  should  I  take  it  back?  In- 
deed, it  is  true  that  I  have  never  seen  him,  except  as 
one  may  say  after  looking  on  a  picture  that  one  has 
seen  the  originaL  But  I  know  him  well  by  hearsay, 
believe  him,  by  good  report,  to  be  upright,  honorable, 
and  unhappy,  restrained  unjustly  from  his  kingdom, 
kept  unrighteously  from  his  inheritance.  Would 
you  have  me  be  as  false  to  him  as  all  the  world 
has  been,  me  who  have  freely  given  him  my 
word  ?" 

Nadia  made  a  little  grimace.  "  Likely  your  High- 
ness is  right,"  she  said,  wistfully,  "  but  for  myself  I 

112 


THE   PRISONER   OF   INNSPRUCK 

think  I  would  let  any  man  go,  to  get  out  of  this  dull 
place." 

"You  talk  foolish,"  Clementina  said,  sharply. 
"There  be  things  a  man  may  not  do — he  may  not 
break  his  passed  word— 

"Ah,  a  man!"  Sacha  commented,  with  a  world  of 
meaning  in  her  few  words. 

Clementina  resented  the  comment  and  showed 
her  resentment  in  a  higher  pitch  of  protest.  "To 
my  mind,"  she  insisted,  "a  man's  honor  and  a  wom- 
an's honor  are  weighed  in  the  same  scales.  A  lie 
is  a  lie,  though  the  lips  that  speak  be  womanly  or 
manly.  I  would  not  deny  my  husband  that  is  to 
be  for  all  the  wonders  of  the  world,  and  if  they  will 
not  release  me  on  other  terms  than  denial,  then  here 
I  will  abide  till  my  dying-time." 

Nadia  shook  her  head  and  smiled  a  wry  smile. 
"I  am  not  of  so  valorous  a  composition,"  she  as- 
serted. 

She  seemed  of  a  mind  to  say  more,  but  Clemen- 
tina took  no  notice  of  her  words,  and  continued: 
"Yet  I  think  it  will  not  end  so.  Uplift  ye,  oh  my 
heart!  A  girl  of  my  line  is  not  to  be  frightened;  a 
girl  of  my  line  is  full  of  hope.  We  call  ourselves 
lucky,  we  Sobieskis." 

"Why?"  Nadia  asked,  ironically. 

"  Because»of  our  bad  luck,  fool!"  Clementina  an- 
swered, tartly.  "Could  Heaven  send  a  better 
reason  ?" 

Both  the  Princess's  women  laughed  loyally  at  their 
"3 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

mistress's  little  witticism.  A  space  of  silence  suc- 
ceeded to  the  forced  merriment.  Clementina  yawned 
and  turned  to  the  window  again  and  looked  dreari- 
ly over  the  dreary  landscape,  all  sodden  with  the 
snow  that  the  beating  rain  was  steadily  turning 
into  slush.  Nadia  and  Sacha  glanced  at  each 
other  and  sighed  softly.  Then  Nadia  spoke  again. 

"What  would  your  Highness  do,"  she  asked,  "if 
when,  after  all  this  pother  and  turmoil  and  discom- 
fort, you  meet  your  Englishman  you  find  that  he  is 
not  to  your  liking  ?" 

Clementina  swung  round  and  faced  her  woman 
angrily.  "You  are  full  of  idle  thoughts  this  day," 
she  cried.  "It  is  the  duty  of  kings  and  queens  to 
love  each  other,  for  the  sake  of  their  subjects." 

Sacha  made  bold  to  laugh  at  this  novel  declara- 
tion of  statecraft.  "But  how  would  it  be,"  she 
asked,  teasingly,  "if  your  Highness  should  chance 
to  meet  some  pretty  fellow  that  was  more  to  your 
taste  than  the  Englishman  ?" 

Clementina  knitted  her  pretty  brows  in  an  effort 
to  look  Junonian,  an  effort  unsuited  to  her  dainty 
loveliness,  and,  therefore,  unsuccessful.  "  Kings  and 
queens  have  no  such  foolish  feelings,"  she  de- 
clared. 

The  girls  tittered  and  seemed  eager  to  pursue  the 
argument,  but  at  this  moment  the  conversation  was 
interrupted.  A  door  opened  and  Monsieur  de 
Chateaudoux  entered. 

"His  Excellency  the  Governor,"  he  said,  "re- 
114 


THE    PRISONER   OF    INNSPRUCK 

quests  the  honor  of  an  interview  with  your  High- 
ness." 

Clementina  answered  gravely,  "I  will  receive  his 
Excellency."  And  Chateaudoux  left  the  room. 

When  he  had  gone  Sacha  turned  to  the  Princess 
and  questioned,  "Why  does  your  Highness  consent 
to  see  this  fellow  ?" 

"Child,"  Clementina  answered,  "it  were  foolish 
to  deny  where  one  has  no  means  to  enforce  denial. 
Let  the  fairness  and  softness  of  courtesy  flourish  be- 
tween us  when  it  comes  to  the  question  of  a  gaoler's 
message." 

As  she  spoke  the  door  opened  again  and  Mon- 
sieur de  Chateaudoux  entered  and  announced, 
"  His  Excellency  the  Governor."  Prompt  upon 
the  announcement  the  Governor  entered.  Gen- 
eral Heister  had  long  left  his  youth  behind,  but 
he  was  still  a  handsome,  soldierly  man,  and  he 
still  carried  himself  with  something  of  the  alert- 
ness and  alacrity  of  the  days  when  he  was  young 
and  gay  and  dangerous.  But  there  was  no  show 
of  gayety  in  his  demeanor  as  he  came  into  the 
presence.  With  grave  formality  he  saluted  the 
Princess,  and,  advancing,  kissed  her  extended  hand. 
Clementina  had  seated  herself,  and  the  Governor 
remained  standing  before  her,  Clementina  smiling 
sourly,  the  Governor  doing  his  best  to  smile  sweetly. 
Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  withdrew. 

"Well,  Excellency,"  Clementina  asked,  "are  you 
come  to  deliver  me  my  liberty  ?" 


"I  hope  so,  your  Highness,"  Heister  replied, 
alertly. 

At  the  sound  of  these  words  Clementina  clapped 
her  hands  joyously,  as  if  she  believed  that  in  very 
truth  the  Governor  had  brought  the  tidings  of  her 
surrender  to  freedom. 

"  Indeed  ?"  she  cried,  with  alacrity.  "  May  I 
pack  my  trunks  ?" 

"Your  Highness  anticipates,"  the  Governor  said, 
gently.  "Here  is  newly  arrived  a  gentleman,  an 
English  gentleman,  that  has  travelled  all  the  way 
from  Great  Britain  and  desires  permission  to  wait 
upon  your  Highness." 

Clementina,  taken  unawares,  looked  some  of  the 
surprise  she  felt.  "Who  is  this  gentleman?"  she 
asked. 

General  Heister  explained:  "Sir  Timothy  Wyn- 
stock,  as  I  think,  but  these  English  names  are  a 
mouthful.  He  comes  as  a  special  envoy  from  my 
Lord  Stanhope,  Great  Britain's  chief  minister." 

"With  what  purpose?"  Clementina  asked,  with 
a  frowning  face.  The  England  of  my  Lord  Stan- 
hope was  the  England  of  the  Elector  of  Hanover 
and  not  the  England  of  King  James  the  Third. 

"I  think  your  Highness  may  guess,"  the  Gov- 
ernor said,  significantly.  "He  wishes,  as  I  take  it, 
to  persuade  your  Highness  of  the  wisdom  of  the 
British  crown  in  your  regard." 

Clementina  felt  angry,  looked  angry,  spoke  an- 
grily. "He  will  have  to  plead  more  mellifluously 

116 


THE   PRISONER   OF   INNSPRUCK 

than  the  sirens,"  she  asserted,  "to  charm  me  into 
that  assurance.  Must  I  indeed  see  the  gentleman  ? 
I  promise  you  that  it  will  be  no  more  than  a  waste 
of  time." 

Heister  replied,  earnestly,  "I  think  I  must  re- 
spectfully entreat  your  Highness  to  grant  this 
audience." 

Clementina  looked  at  him  ironically.  "Your 
Excellency's  entreaties  are  as  like  commands  as 
this  place  is  like  a  prison.  Pray  introduce  the  fool- 
ish gentleman." 

The  Governor  raised  his  eyebrows.  "Foolish 
gentleman?"  he  echoed.  "Do  you  know  him?" 

"A  man  must  needs  be  foolish,"  Clementina  in- 
sisted, "who  hopes  to  persuade  a  woman  like  me 
to  change  her  mind  for  reasons  of  state."  She 
paused,  and  then  as  if  recognizing  her  helplessness, 
she  added,  "Oh,  admit  him  and  be  done  with  him!" 


IX 

THE    BRITISH    ENVOY 

HEISTER  looked  relieved  and 

bowed  profoundly.  "I  thank  your  Highness,'* 
he  said,  and  quitted  the  room  with  a  rapidity  that 
fringed  the  skirts  of  informality.  Indeed,  the  poor 
gentleman  was  somewhat  to  be  pitied,  for  his 
guardianship  was  whimsical  and  unfamiliar;  his 
ward  was  wayward,  and  plainly  hated  him;  and 
how  the  whole  business  was  to  end  it  gravelled  him 
to  guess.  Had  he  been  in  supreme  command  of 
the  situation  his  methods  would  have  been  primi- 
tive and  paternal.  As  it  was,  he  could  but  grin  and 
bear  it,  whistling  or  cursing  as  his  daily  humor 
veered. 

General  Heister  could  not  admit  that  the  captivity 
of  the  Princess  Clementina  was  in  any  sense  rigor- 
ous or  unkind  apart  from  the  original  unkindness, 
if  such  indeed  it  were,  that  kept  her  from  her  prom- 
ised husband.  She  was  lodged  in  a  house  that 
neighbored  the  Governor's  own  residence;  she  had 
the  company  of  her  mother  and  of  her  ladies-in- 
waiting,  and  to  give  to  her  little  establishment  some- 
thing of  the  formality  of  a  petty  court  she  had  the 

118 


THE   BRITISH   ENVOY 

services  of  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux,  the  French 
gentleman  that  had  been  for  long  her  father's  pri- 
vate secretary,  to  act  as  her  prime  minister,  as  her 
master  of  the  ceremonials,  and,  indeed,  as  all  the 
male  officials  of  her  household.  She  was  in  a  sense 
watched,  in  the  sense  that  a  sentry  stood  before  the 
door  of  her  dwelling;  but  this  might  be  interpreted 
as  you  chose,  either  as  an  act  of  vigilance  or  as  an 
act  of  courtesy. 

Indeed,  there  seemed  to  General  Heister,  as  there 
would  probably  have  seemed  to  any  other  Austrian 
official  in  his  place,  that  there  was  not  the  faintest 
need  of  anything  beyond  the  merest  show  of  sur- 
veillance. How  could  a  young  woman  attended 
only  by  women  and  one  elderly  gentleman  seriously 
entertain  any  thought  of  escape  from  a  town  like 
Innspruck,  so  far  within  the  dominion  of  Caesar  ? 
General  Heister  himself  had  said,  jestingly,  that  un- 
less the  Princess  could  take  to  herself  the  wings  of  a 
bird  there  was  no  chance  of  her  leaving  Innspruck 
until  such  time  as  the  Emperor  chose  to  relent  or 
the  girl  to  make  submission.  As  the  Emperor 
showed  no  signs  of  relenting,  and  the  girl  showed 
no  signs  of  submission,  General  Heister  got  quite 
used  to  the  presence  of  the  Princess  and  her  little 
court  in  the  town  where  he  held  command,  and 
grew  less  and  less  heedful  of  any  possibility  of  the 
girl  slipping  from  between  his  fingers. 

Clementina  was,  therefore,  willingly  allowed  by 
General  Heister  a  great  deal  more  liberty  than  she 

119 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

chose  to  use.  So  long  as  she  kept  within  the  limits 
of  the  town  she  might,  if  she  pleased,  have  wan- 
dered all  day  about  Innspruck  and  admired  its 
many  beauties,  chief  among  them,  in  the  eyes  of  its 
inhabitants,  the  Golden  Roof  of  Frederick  of  the 
Empty  Pockets.  But  the  Princess  preferred  to 
make  the  most  of  her  captivity,  and  declined  to 
take  the  air  otherwhere  than  in  the  garden  of  the 
house  that  had  been  allotted  to  her  for  a  residence. 
As  this  garden  was  a  fairly  large  one,  shut  in  by 
high,  weatherworn  old  walls  and  not  overlooked  at 
all,  the  Princess  could  here  enjoy  herself  in  all 
privacy,  and  would  have  done  so  more  often  than 
she  did  if  the  spring  of  that  year  of  imprisonment 
had  been  less  bitter. 

General  Heister  knew  very  well  that  the  one  thing 
which  insistently  recalled  to  Clementina  the  fact  of 
her  captivity,  had  she  been  at  all  minded  to  forget  it, 
was  the  formal  daily  visit  which  he  felt  it  his  duty 
to  pay  her,  a  formality  which  he  fulfilled  more 
for  the  satisfaction  of  his  official  conscience  than 
from  any  pleasure  it  afforded  either  to  the  visitor 
or  the  visited.  The  conversation  on  these  occasions 
was  almost  invariably  on  the  same  lines.  The  Gen- 
eral would  inquire  politely  as  to  the  Princess's 
health,  and  the  Princess  would  reply  politely  and 
icily  that  she  was  as  well  as  any  young  woman 
unjustly  imprisoned  could  either  expect  or  desire 
to  be.  The  Governor  would  then  probably  make 
some  remark  about  the  weather,  or  offer  to  com- 

uo 


THE   BRITISH   ENVOY 

municate  some  trivial  gossip  from  Vienna.  Here 
the  Princess  would  generally  cut  him  short  with 
the  assurance  that  she  was  indifferent  to  any  news 
from  the  court  of  the  cruel  Caesar,  but  that  she 
would  be  glad  to  have  any  information  as  to  the 
health  and  well-being  of  her  affianced  husband, 
the  King  of  England.  To  such  words,  spoken  by 
the  young  lady  with  all  the  gravity  she  could  com- 
mand, the  General  would  attempt  to  reply  in  a 
manner  of  heavy  badinage  that  had  the  effect  of 
still  further  exasperating  the  Princess,  who  would 
presently  signify  that  the  audience  was  at  an  end. 
General  Heister  would  then  respectfully  take  his 
leave,  as  he  had  now  taken  his  leave,  and  occupy 
himself  with  his  own  business  and  his  own  pleas- 
ures for  the  next  twenty-four  hours,  leaving  Clem- 
entina to  pass  those  twenty-four  hours  as  best  she 
might,  raging  against  fate  and  furious  at  her  own 
inability  to  right  her  wrongs. 

The  General  lost  no  time  in  intrusting  his  Eng- 
lish visitor  to  the  care  of  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux, 
and  in  doing  so  he  considered  that  he  had  washed 
his  hands  of  the  Sobieski  family  for  the  day.  He 
did  not  like  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux,  and  Mon- 
sieur de  Chateaudoux  did  not  like  him,  but  they 
had  to  see  a  certain  amount  of  each  other  in  their 
official  positions  as  representatives  of  two  royalties. 

Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  was  an  amiable,  for- 
mal French  gentleman  that  had  lived  the  better  part 
of  his  life  abroad  from  his  native  land,  but  that  still 

121 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

cherished  tenderly  the  traditions  of  the  sunlit  reign. 
He  had  the  soul  of  a  majordomo;  he  delighted  to 
keep  a  prince's  house  in  order;  he  had  done  his 
best  to  create  a  miniature  Versailles  in  the  limited 
circumscription  of  Ohlau.  He  had  succeeded  to 
the  top  of  his  hopes,  for,  if  he  was  a  great  deal  of  a 
pedant,  he  was  also  very  little  of  a  fool,  and  he  did 
not  nick  the  notch  of  his  hopes  too  high.  So  long 
as  he  could  chasten  the  asperities — for  so  he  deemed 
them — of  the  Northern  State  into  at  least  a  remote 
harmony  with  the  stately  graces  of  the  great  days 
of  the  great  reign,  he  was  content.  Indeed,  he  had 
reason  for  contentment.  Ohlau  took  kindly  to 
etiquette,  to  the  suave  manipulation  of  fans,  to  the 
swimming  carriage  of  petticoats,  to  the  peruked 
paganism  and  modish  mannerism  that  had  made 
the  grand  century  so  very  grand. 

Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  had  been  very  happy 
in  his  long  tranquillity  of  Ohlau.  He  had  even  been 
happy  when  a  skittish  fate  had  called  upon  him  to 
quit  these  familiarities  and  escort  a  petulant,  ex- 
quisite princess  across  Europe  to  wed  an  exiled  gen- 
tleman who  for  some  mysterious  reason  was  called 
King  of  England,  though  his  throne  was  tempo- 
rarily occupied  by  a  disagreeable  German  Elector. 
But  he  was  not  happy  in  Innspruck  as  the  prisoned 
minister  of  a  prisoned  princess.  He  disliked  the 
discomforts  of  captivity,  the  disturbance  of  a  fa- 
miliar and  agreeable  routine,  and,  because  he  asso- 
ciated General  Heister  with  those  discomforts  and 

122 


that  disturbance,  he  disliked  General  Heister.  Now 
he  accompanied  him  reluctantly  enough  to  the  Gov- 
ernor's house  to  take  charge  of  the  English  envoy 
that  had  so  suddenly  made  his  appearance,  and  to 
present  him  to  the  Princess. 

When  General  Heister  was  well  out  of  hearing 
the  girl  Nadia  spoke  rapidly  to  her  mistress. 
"Madam,"  she  whispered,  "you  vex  his  Excellency 
mightily." 

Clementina  shrugged  her  shoulders.  "Let  him 
but  set  me  free,"  she  answered,  tartly,  "and  I  shall 
vex  him  no  longer." 

She  knew  that  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  would 
presently  enter  with  this  unwelcome  visitor  from 
England,  so  she  rose  and  went  again  to  the  window 
and  stood  there  with  her  back  turned  to  the  door, 
staring  at  the  dreary  landscape,  and  still  stood  so 
when  the  door  opened  and  Monsieur  de  Chateau- 
doux came  in,  with  a  gentleman  by  his  side  that  was 
clad  in  a  sober  travelling  habit,  and  was  accom- 
panied by  a  youth  enveloped  in  a  huge  riding- 
mantle. 

"Your  Highness,"  Chateaudoux  said,  "I  have 
the  honor  to  present  to  you  the  high  and  well-born 
British  statesman,  the  Lord  Sir  Timothy  Wyn- 
stock,  who  comes  attended  by  his  secretary,  and 
who  entreats  the  honor  of  a  few  minutes'  private 
speech  with  your  Highness." 

The  Princess  barely  turned  her  head  in  the  di- 
rection of  her  minister,  and  gave  a  curt  little  bow 
9  123 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

as  if  to  admit  that  she  had  heard  what  he  said  how- 
ever unwilling  she  might  be  to  hear  it.  Chateau- 
doux  threw  a  semi-apologetic  glance  at  his  com- 
panion, a  glance  which  aimed  at  suggesting  that 
much  as  he,  Chateaudoux,  detested  the  English- 
man's mission  he  was  in  honesty  compelled  to  ad- 
mit that  women  were  difficult  creatures  to  manage. 
He  then  withdrew,  leaving  the  stranger  in  possession 
of  the  field.  At  a  whispered  order  from  Clemen- 
tina, her  women  quitted  the  room  to  go  to  the  apart- 
ment of  the  Princess  Sobieski,  and  the  Princess  and 
the  new-comers  were  left  alone.  The  youth  that 
accompanied  Wogan,  in  obedience  to  a  word  from 
him,  withdrew  to  the  farthest  part  of  the  room  and 
waited  there. 


X 

METAMORPHOSIS 

FOR  some  few  seconds  silence  reigned  in  the 
room,  a  silence  at  last  broken  by  Clementina, 
who,  still  looking  steadfastly  out  of  the  window  at 
the  raining  sky  and  the  snowy  earth,  asked  a  ques- 
tion of  her  visitor.  "Well,  sir,"  she  asked,  "what 
have  you  to  say  to  me  ?" 

"Much,"  the  stranger  answered,  "and  short  time 
to  say  it  in." 

At  the  sound  of  the  stranger's  voice  Clementina 
swung  sharply  round  from  the  window  and  stared 
at  him.  It  is  the  duty  of  royal  persons  to  recall 
voices;  it  is  the  duty  of  royal  persons  to  remember 
faces.  She  knew  that  she  had  heard  the  voice  be- 
fore, and  when  she  turned  she  knew  that  she  had 
seen  the  face  before.  In  the  person  of  the  pretended 
English  envoy  she  recognized  to  her  astonishment 
the  Chevalier  Charles  Wogan,  with  whom  she  had 
spoken  once  for  a  few  minutes  at  Ohlau. 

"You!"  she  cried,  incredulous. 

"Even  I,"  Wogan  answered.  "To  the  good 
Governor  yonder  I  am  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock, 
British  envoy  from  my  Lord  Stanhope  to  your 


THE   KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

Highness,  and  hereafter  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria; 
but  to  your  Highness  I  am  no  better  and  no  worse 
than  Charles  Wogan." 

In  the  eyes  of  both  lights  were  shining;  in  the 
ears  of  both  sounds  were  stirring  that  were  not  the 
lights  and  sounds  of  the  room  in  the  Innspruck 
villa.  The  lights  were  the  big  wax  candles  in  the 
sconces  of  the  great  hall  at  Ohlau;  the  sounds  were 
made  by  the  bows  of  the  fiddles  scraping  on  the 
strings  of  the  fiddles  up  in  the  gallery,  where  the 
musicians  were  making  ready  for  the  dance  that 
was  about  to  begin.  The  room  was  all  vivid  with 
the  color  of  coats  and  gowns,  with  the  glitter  of 
stars  and  diadems;  the  room  was  all  tingling  with 
insistent  voices  and  the  thrill  of  troubled  violins. 
And  in  the  midst  of  all  the  noise  and  glow  a  laugh- 
ing girl,  hanging  on  the  arm  of  a  partner  for  the 
coming  dance — name  of  him  now  irrevocably  for- 
gotten— is  stayed  on  her  way  through  the  crowd 
by  the  master  of  the  house — that  is,  the  Prince,  her 
father,  and  that  should,  if  the  world  were  a  better 
world,  be  a  king.  The  Prince,  her  father,  pre- 
sents to  her  a  stranger  with  an  outlandish  name, 
a  gentleman  with  a  comely,  quiet  face  and  bright, 
smiling  eyes;  a  gentleman  that  speaks  French  very 
readily  and  dexterously  with  a  little,  soft,  provo- 
cative accent  unknown  to  her  before.  The  Prin- 
cess Clementina  exchanges  a  few  words  with  the 
Chevalier  Charles  Wogan  and  sweeps  onward  to 
her  dance.  The  dance-music  is  ringing  all  round 

126 


METAMORPHOSIS 

the  room  now  as  they  meet  again,  for  the  second 
time.  For  a  moment  both  stand  very  still  and 
silent.  Then  the  girl  breaks  the  silence. 

"What  does  it  all  mean?"  Clementina  cried,  in 
amaze.  "  Is  there  no  English  envoy  ?" 

"Oh  yes,"  Wogan  answered,  "there  is  an  Eng- 
lish envoy  now  sleeping  dully  or  waking  dully  in 
Strasbourgh.  I  masquerade  in  his  raiment;  I  carry 
his  papers;  I  hoodwink  simpletons  like  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Innspruck." 

"What  does  it  all  mean  ?"  Clementina  cried  again. 

"It  means,  your  Highness,"  Wogan  answered, 
with  a  grave  joy  in  his  voice,  "that  I  am  come  to 
set  you  free." 

Clementina  gave  a  little  scream  of  delight,  doubt, 
wonder. 

"To  set  me  free?"  she  gasped.     "Truly?" 

"Truly,"  Wogan  replied.  "I  am  the  bearer  to 
your  Highness  of  two  means  of  escape  from  your 
present  detestable  captivity." 

"Two  means  of  escape  ?"  Clementina  repeated, 
eagerly.  "One  is  enough  for  me." 

"Your  Highness  shall  judge,"  Wogan  said,  calm- 
ly. "In  the  first  place,  I  am  commanded  by  my 
royal  master,  King  James  the  Third,  to  assure  your 
Highness  of  the  grief  he  feels  at  your  Highness's 
detention,  and  at  the  thought  that  your  tribulations 
are  due  to  him.  He  bids  me,  therefore,  to  assure 
you  that  if  you  at  all  desire  to  be  released  from 
your  promise  to  him  he,  at  whatever  cost  to  him- 

127 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

self,  is  ready  to  release  you.     This  would  set  you 
free  at  once." 

Clementina  spoke  swiftly:  "But  this  we  need 
not  consider  if  his  Majesty  is  still  of  the  mind  in 
which,  through  you,  he  wooed  me." 

Wogan  answered  emphatically.  "His  Majesty 
is  ever  your  Highness's  adoring  suitor." 

"Though  he  has  never  seen  me,"  Clementina  said, 
smiling. 

"He  has  seen  your  picture,"  Wogan  asserted. 

Clementina  made  a  face.  "A  miniature  may  lie 
like  a  money-lender,"  she  protested. 

"I  was  at  hand,"  Wogan  suggested,  "to  back  its 
veracity." 

Clementina  laughed  blithely.  "Why,"  she  cried, 
"you  did  not  see  me  above  a  minute  or  so." 

"A  minute,"  Wogan  answered,  gravely,  "is  time 
enough  in  which  to  see  your  Highness,  and  to  see 
for  a  minute  is  to  remember  forever." 

Clementina  laughed  again.  "I  have  heard  that 
you  gentlemen  of  Ireland  are  very  ready  of  speech," 
she  said.  "If  my  Lord  loves  me  on  the  faith  of 
your  phrases  your  tongue  must  be  a  prodigal. 
Could  you  love  a  lady  so  ?" 

"If  I  were  another,"  Wogan  said,  earnestly,  "and 
heard  Charles  Wogan  say  that  a  lady  were  fair  be- 
yond praise  and  lovable  beyond  thought  I  should 
believe  him." 

"Indeed!"  Clementina  commented,  and  looked 
many  questions. 

128 


METAMORPHOSIS 

"Indeed,"  Wogan  answered,  seriously;  then 
questioned,  "What  does  your  Highness  .say  to  my 
first  way  of  escape  ?" 

Clementina  answered  emphatically:  "I  will  say 
to  you  what  I  said  to  my  women  but  now,  that  I 
will  wither  here  to  antiquity  before  I  go  back  of  my 
given  word." 

Wogan  looked  pleased  at  her  vehemence.  "I 
expected  as  much  from  your  Highness,"  he  de- 
clared, "but  my  orders  were  my  orders." 

"What  is  your  second  way?"  Clementina  asked. 
"  I  hope  it  is  better  than  the  first." 

"Much  better,"  Wogan  assured  her.  "If  your 
Highness  do  but  consent  I  will  carry  you  hence  in 
my  company." 

"Has  the  British  envoy  so  much  power  in  his 
passport  ?"  Clementina  questioned. 

"Truly,  no,"  Wogan  admitted.  "If  your  High- 
ness come  with  me  it  must  be  by  stealth.  Du- 
plicity and  intrigue  are  my  cards  in  the  game  I  play 
for  your  Highness's  liberation.  All  my  plans  are 
laid  for  your  escape,  but  I  must  warn  your  Highness 
that  it  is  a  mighty  ticklish  adventure." 

"Tell  me  what  I  am  to  do  and  I  will  do  it," 
Clementina  asserted,  confidently. 

Wogan  began  his  explanation.  "First  of  all," 
he  said,  "let  me  begin  where  I  ought  to  have  begun 
at  the  start,  and  that  same  place  should  be  the  be- 
ginning, though  it  is  never  our  Irish  way  to  be  so 
formal  and  so  nice.  But  it  is  not  too  late  to  hark 

129 


THE    KING    OVER    THE   WATER 

back  and  deliver  my  credentials,  which  is  the 
first  duty  of  an  envoy  of  any  kind  all  the  world 
over." 

Clementina  smiled  confidently  at  him.  "Your 
credentials  ?"  she  echoed.  r'The  Chevalier  Wogan 
needs  no  credentials  to  me  when  he  comes  from  my 
King." 

Wogan  laughed.  "It  was  not  of  his  Majesty — 
God  bless  him! — that  I  was  thinking  at  all,"  he  de- 
clared. "It  was  of  the  worthy  gentleman,  your 
father,  I  spoke,  and  I  was  wishful  to  prove  that  he 
was  aware  of  what  I  was  after,  and  that  he  gave  his 
princely  consent  to  that  same.  Sure  I  couldn't  do 
what  I  want  to  do,  anyhow,  if  your  amiable  parent 
did  not  approve  of  my  enterprise  and  did  not  give 
his  consent  to  my  attempting  it.  But  he  does  and 
he  has,  Heaven  reward  him,  and  here  is  the  proof 
that  it  is  God's  holy  truth  I  am  talking." 

As  he  spoke  Wogan  fumbled  for  a  moment  in  his 
breast-pocket  and  then  produced  a  packet,  which  he 
handed  to  the  Princess. 

Clementina  opened  it  and  found  a  letter  from  her 
father,  formally  ordering  her  to  follow  the  advice 
of  the  Chevalier  Wogan,  who  had  a  plan  for  liberat- 
ing her  which  met  with  his  entire  approval.  Clem- 
entina read  rapidly,  then  questioned,  "What  is  your 
plan  ?" 

"You  must  hear  my  tale  something  in  the  rough," 
Wogan  answered,  "since  time  presses,  and  take 
much  for  granted.  I  and  three  gentlemen  of  my 

130 


METAMORPHOSIS 

acquaintance  are  going  to  carry  you  hence,  to 
carry  you  to  Rome  and  my  royal  master." 

"You  and  three  gentlemen  of  your  acquaint- 
ance?" Clementina  repeated,  bewildered.  "You 
talk  like  the  ancient  heroes.  How  are  you  and 
your  three  friends  to  get  me  out  of  Innspruck  ?" 

"Very  easily,"  Wogan  insisted.  "You  are  not 
guarded  by  dragons,  or  if  you  are,  they  are  drowsy 
dragons  and  sleep  secure  of  their  prey.  At  the  inn 
of  the  *  Black  Eagle '  by  the  West  Gate  my  coach 
waits;  at  the  same  inn  are  my  three  friends  that 
are  to  be  your  escort,  and  with  them  is  the  wife  of 
one  of  them,  that  means  to  be  your  lady-in-waiting 
on  the  adventure." 

"Who  be  these  three  brave  gentlemen,"  Clem- 
entina asked,  "that  are  so  ready  to  serve  me?" 

"Their  names  are  unknown  to  your  Highness," 
Wogan  answered.  "But  I  will  deliver  them  to  you, 
for  they  are  worth  the  remembering.  They  are 
Major  Richard  Gaydon,  Captain  John  Misset,  and 
Captain  Luke  O'Toole.  They  are  all  Irishmen  in 
the  service  of  France,  and  they  serve  France  because 
France  has  been  the  friend  to  .King  James,  and  will 
be  again,  please  Heaven." 

Clementina  looked  at  Wogan  with  admiring,  de- 
lighted eyes.  "You  are  a  very  wonderful  gentle- 
man," she  cried,  "and  you  seem  to  have  some  very 
wonderful  friends.  I  cannot  think  what  I  have 
done  to  deserve  such  devotion." 

Wogan  made  her  a  courtly  bow,  but  his  voice  was 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

very  earnest  as  he  answered  her:  "You  have  been 
pleased  to  exist,  Highness,  and  to  add  to  the  grace 
and  glory  of  the  world,  and  there  never  was  Irish- 
man yet,  worthy  to  be  called  Irish,  that  would  not 
do  his  all  in  the  cause  of  beauty." 

Clementina  laughed  gayly  at  the  extravagance  of 
his  speech.  "I  think  you  must  have  already  re- 
leased me,"  she  vowed.  "Surely  this  is  not  my 
prison  of  Innspruck,  but  the  gardens  of  Armida, 
and  you  some  valorous  Orlando." 

"Alas!  Highness,"  Wogan  answered,  "I  am  no 
such  matter,  nor  is  your  Highness,  indeed,  yet  at 
liberty;  so  the  sooner  we  set  to  work  to  that  end 
the  better." 

Clementina  nodded  and  looked  wise.  "How  is 
it  to  be  done  ?"  she  asked. 

Wogan  answered  a  question  with  a  question: 
"You  are  not,  I  take  it,  very  closely  guarded  ?" 

"Lord,  no!"  Clementina  cried.  "They  think 
that  unless  I  had  wings  there  is  no  way  for  me  to 
fly  out  of  Innspruck." 

"Please  God,  we  shall  show  them  their  error," 
Wogan  said,  significantly.  "Now  is  there  any 
unwatched  way  by  which  your  Highness  could  gain 
the  open  ?" 

"Surely,"  Clementina  answered.  "Yonder  door 
leads  to  a  quiet  garden  with  an  ancient  gate.  I 
could  have  got  out  so  a  hundred  times,  but  to  what 
purpose  ?" 

"None,  indeed,  then,"  Wogan  said,  emphatically. 
132 


METAMORPHOSIS 

"Much  now.  For  this  enterprise,  Highness,  if  I 
have  enlisted  one  woman  to  serve  you,  I  have  en- 
listed another  to  take  your  place  here  for  a  while." 

He  turned  as  he  spoke  to  the  youth  that  waited 
apart,  and  called  to  him  to  come  forward.  In 
obedience  to  his  summons  the  youth  advanced  to 
the  centre  of  the  room  and  paused  there  in  sullen 
silence.  "Permit  me,"  Wogan  said  to  the  Princess, 
"to  present  to  your  Highness  my  secretary,  Mistress 
Jane  Gordon." 

Clementina  gave  a  little  cry  of  surprise.  "A 
woman!"  she  said,  and  as  if  in  answer  to  her  sur- 
prise Wogan  lifted  the  heavy  cavalier's  hat  from 
the  new-comer's  head  and  revealed  the  handsome, 
angry  face  of  Jane.  He  plucked  away  her  riding- 
cloak  and  showed  that  she  was  habited  like  a  man 
beneath  it. 

"A  woman,  your  Highness,"  Wogan  said,  as  he 
flung  the  cloak  over  a  chair,  "that  has  done  this  for 
love  of  you." 

The  girl  turned  sharply  to  Wogan  and  said,  in  a 
low  voice  that  only  reached  his  ears,  "For  love  of 
you,  Charles  Wogan." 

Wogan  looked  at  her  in  dismayed  reproof. 
"Hush,  hush!"  he  said,  softly;  "remember  your 
vow  to  act  pretty."  Then  indicating  the  Princess 
with  a  gesture,  he  continued,  "Mistress  Gordon, 
her  Highness  permits  you  to  kiss  her  hand." 

"I  do  not  want  to,"  Jane  responded,  still  in  the 
same  low  voice. 

133 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

Clementina,  who  took  the  girl's  reluctance  for 
embarrassment,  addressed  her  kindly.  "Child," 
she  asked,  "are  you  really  running  this  risk  for  my 
sake  ?" 

Jane  gave  a  jerk  of  her  head  in  the  direction  of 
Wogan.  "You  have  heard  him  say  so,"  she  said, 
and  said  no  more. 

Wogan  sidled  up  to  her  and  spoke  swiftly,  en- 
treatingly.  "Now,  for  God's  sake,  Jane,  be  ami- 
able," he  implored.  He  addressed  the  Princess: 
"If  your  Highness  could  allow  this  brave  young 
lady  to  rid  herself  of  a  garb  that  sadly  muffles  her 
comeliness,  and  to  shift  into  some  gown  and  coats 
of  yours,  we  shall  be  ready  for  the  next  move  in  the 
game." 

"That  is  easy  enough,"  Clementina  answered. 
"Go  into  this  room,  child;  it  is  my  bedchamber. 
In  the  wardrobe  you  will  find  a  dress  very  like  this; 
use  it,  with  whatever  else  you  may  need." 

Jane  made  a  little  unwilling  curtsey  which  con- 
trasted comically  indeed  with  her  male  attire  and 
her  heavy  riding-boots.  "I  thank  your  Highness," 
she  said. 

Wogan  whispered  in  her  ear,  "And  for  the  love 
of  Heaven  be  brisk!" 

She  answered  him  half  frowning,  half  smiling: 
"  I  will  be  brisk  for  the  love  of—  She  paused  for 
a  moment,  and  added,  "Heaven." 

Then,  in  obedience  to  the  gesture  of  the  Princess, 
she  passed  into  the  next  room  and  closed  the  door 

134 


METAMORPHOSIS 

behind  her.     Clementina  turned  to  Wogan.   "What 
is  your  purpose  now  ?"  she  asked. 

"The  dusk  will  soon  be  darkness,"  Wogan  an- 
swered. "I  will  take  my  leave.  I  have  declined  all 
the  Governor's  offers  of  hospitality  on  the  ground  of 
fatigue.  I  have  told  him  that  I  have  chosen  to  lodge 
at  the  *  Black  Eagle,'  which  is  not  the  fashionable 
resort  of  the  town,  because  I  wish  to  start  betimes  on 
my  journey  to  Vienna  to-morrow,  after  I  have  assured 
myself  of  your  Highness's  safety.  The  proverbial 
madness  of  Englishmen  abroad  justifies  any  and 
every  eccentricity.  You  will  slip  away  under  cover 
of  the  darkness  to  the  alley  that  leads  to  the  bridge. 
There  I  will  meet  you  and  conduct  you  to  where 
my  coach  waits  and  my  friends.  This  girl  that  is 
to  be  your  substitute  will  take  your  place  in  your 
bed,  will  feign  headache  and  refuse  all  company 
save  her  women,  to  whom,  when  they  join  her, 
she  will  tell  her  tale.  Are  your  Highness's  women 
to  be  trusted  ?" 

"Quite,"  Clementina  answered. 

"That  is  well,"  Wogan  said,  cheerfully,  "and  all 
is  well." 

At  this  moment  the  Princess  broke  out  into  a 
pretty  ripple  of  insistent  laughter  that  Wogan,  for 
all  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the  cause  of  the  girl's 
hilarity,  was  obliged  to  join  in  and  grin.  But  if  he 
permitted  his  face  to  pucker  with  mirth,  his  eyes 
questioned,  and  Clementina  seeing  the  challenge 
answered  it. 

'35 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

"I  am  laughing,"  she  said,  "to  think  of  all  the 
things  that  we  are  forgetting  in  our  anxiety  to  be 
off." 

Wogan  shook  his  head  gently,  as  if  to  insinuate 
that  he  could  not  admit  that  he  was  forgetting  any- 
thing. But  the  girl  was  not  to  be  balked  of  her 
cause  for  laughter. 

"First  of  all,"  she  insisted,  "we  are  forgetting  my 
mother,  who  is  so  vexed  and  fretted  that  she  has 
taken  to  her  bed.  Have  you  forgotten  my  mother, 
Monsieur  the  Chevalier?" 

Again  Wogan  shook  his  head.  "I  had  not  for- 
gotten my  lady,  your  mother,"  he  protested.  "I 
have  even  in  my  possession  a  letter  from  your  father 
to  your  lady  mother,  entreating  her,  as  he  has  en- 
treated you,  to  follow  my  counsels  in  this  business." 
As  he  said  this  he  produced  the  letter  of  which  he 
spoke,  and  delivered  it  to  Clementina.  "But  if," 
he  continued,  "your  Highness  will  be  advised  by 
me,  she  will  waste  no  time  in  seeking  an  interview 
that  can  only  be  distressing  to  her  and  to  you,  but 
will  consent  instead  to  leave  a  letter  explaining  the 
reason  of  your  disappearance." 

Clementina  laughed  again.  "Let  my  mother," 
she  said,  "be  kept  in  ignorance  if  you  will,  but  I 
am  mightily  afraid  that  you  will  have  to  tell  all  to 
Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux." 

Wogan  met  Clementina's  mirth  with  companion- 
able laughter.  It  pleased  him  to  find  her  so  buoy- 
ant, but  behind  his  sympathetic  merriment  he  was 


METAMORPHOSIS 

conscious  of  a  strong  reluctance  to  tell  all  to  Mon- 
sieur de  Chateaudoux. 

"Is  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux,"  he  asked,  "the 
somewhat  solemn  gentleman  who  introduced  me  to 
your  gracious  presence  ?" 

"The  same,"  Clementina  replied.  "Indeed,  he 
is  all  my  household  on  the  male  side.  He  is  my 
prime  minister,  my  majordomo,  my  factotum.  I 
suppose  he  would  be  my  executioner  if  I  had  the 
power  to  execute  any  one,  and  if  I  had  I  would 
make  him  execute  General  Heister.  Alas!  I  have 
no  such  power." 

She  sighed  so  prettily  and  pulled  so  long  a  face 
that  Wogan  sighed  and  looked  grave.  "  Yes,"  con- 
tinued the  Princess,  with  the  air  of  one  that  sums 
up  a  long  and  logical  series  of  arguments,  "  I  fear 
that  we  must  confide  in  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux." 

Wogan  was  amused,  but  unconvinced.  "May  I 
ask  your  Highness  why  so?"  he  questioned.  "The 
fewer  that  are  in  our  secret — " 

He  got  no  further.  Clementina  was  too  quick 
to  permit  him  to  finish.  "Very  true,"  she  said,  "so 
long  as  you  can  keep  them  out  of  it,  but  I  am  afraid 
that  you  cannot  keep  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux 
out  of  our  secret." 

"May  I  ask  why  not  ?"  Wogan  persisted,  and  he 
smiled  as  he  spoke.  He  was  finding  the  Princess 
very  delightful,  and  though  he  had  but  the  memory 
of  the  one  brief  meeting  behind  him,  he  felt  already 
as  if  he  and  she  were  old  friends.  She  was  wilful; 

137 


she  was  imperious;  she  was  whimsical;  but  above 
all  she  was  victoriously  charming.  Somehow  the 
discovery — or  perhaps  the  re-discovery — brought  a 
queer  sense  of  something  like  sadness  with  it  which 
for  the  moment  he  could  not  understand. 

"In  the  first  place,"  Clementina  responded,  with 
a  gracious  gravity,  "because,  if  the  dear,  good  per- 
sonage learned  that  I  had  taken  to  my  bed  he  would 
be  certain  to  want  to  send  for  a  doctor  or  to  see  me 
—he  trifles  a  little  with  physic  himself — and  then 
Heaven  knows  what  would  happen,  for  he  is  as 
fussy  as  a  dear  old  woman,  the  excellent  Monsieur 
de  Chateaudoux.  But  there  is  a  more  important 
reason  even  than  that.  You  came  in  here  with  a 
young  gentleman,  your  secretary.  You  go  out 
alone." 

"I  explained  to  General  Heister,"  Wogan  an- 
swered, "that  I  was  leaving  my  secretary  here  to 
keep  watch  upon  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux,  whom 
I  suspected  of  endeavoring  to  correspond  with  for- 
eign powers." 

"Very  true,"  Clementina  agreed,  "but  you  have 
not  told  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  as  much,  and 
as  to  him  you  are  at  present  the  British  envoy,  he 
would  think  it  very  droll  indeed  if  you  were  to  take 
your  departure  and  leave  the  young  gentleman,  your 
secretary,  behind  you.  Really,  I  think  we  must 
admit  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  into  our  con- 
fidence." 

"Your  Highness  is  entirely  right,"  Wogan  ad- 
138 


METAMORPHOSIS 

mitted,  surrendering  as  the  wise  man  does  when  he 
sees  that  surrender  is  judicious.  "I  am  not  sure 
that  Heaven  ever  intended  me  for  a  play-actor,  for 
I  find  it  hard  to  remember  all  the  time  that  I  am 
the  beef-eater,  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock,  and  that 
others  accept  me  for  that  same.  Let  us  have  in  the 
good  Chateaudoux  by  all  means.  Is  the  excellent 
gentleman  in  the  antechamber  ?" 

"  He  is  always  there,"  Clementina  answered.  "  He 
is  very  full  of  a  sense  of  his  own  importance  as  the 
only  male  being  in  my  droll  little  establishment,  and 
he  sits  there  for  hours  together,  busily  engaged  in 
writing  a  history  of  my  captivity  whenever  he  is  not 
occupied  in  drawing  up  elaborate  protests  against 
that  captivity  addressed  to  all  the  crowned  heads  of 
Europe,  protests  which,  of  course,  never  get  beyond 
the  hands  of  General  Heister." 

Wogan  went  to  the  door  and,  opening  it,  looked 
into  the  antechamber.  There,  at  a  large  table  lit- 
tered with  papers,  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  sat 
busily  writing.  Wogan  addressed  him,  and  at  the 
sound  of  his  voice  Chateaudoux  lifted  his  absorbed 
face  from  his  papers  and  looked  round. 

"Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux,"  Wogan  said,  very 
politely,  "her  Highness  desires  speech  with  you." 

Chateaudoux  sighed.  He  was  in  the  middle  of 
a  thrilling  appeal  to  civilization  against  the  tyranny 
of  Caesar.  But  a  request  from  Clementina  was  a 
command,  even  if  it  came  through  the  lips  of  an 
emissary  of  the  Elector  of  Hanover.  So  he  pushed 
10  139 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

his  papers  aside,  put  down  his  pen,  quitted  the 
table,  and  came  into  the  presence.  Wogan  care- 
fully closed  the  door  after  him.  Monsieur  de  Cha- 
teaudoux  stood  for  a  moment  perplexed  and  ex- 
pectant, staring  at  the  Princess,  who  suddenly  burst 
into  a  fit  of  laughter  at  the  gravity  of  his  countenance. 

"My  good  friend,"  she  said,  when  she  had  done 
laughing,  "do  you  know  who  this  gentleman  is?" 
She  pointed  at  Wogan  as  she  spoke,  and  Monsieur 
de  Chateaudoux,  following  her  gesture,  looked  at 
Wogan  with  cold  courtesy. 

"  If  I  remember  the  name  aright,"  he  answered, 
"the  gentleman  is  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock,  Envoy 
Extraordinary  from  Great  Britain." 

"He  is  nothing  of  the  kind!"  cried  Clementina, 
delightedly.  "Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux,  let  me 
present  to  you  my  very  loyal  friend,  the  Chevalier 
Charles  Wogan,  the  trusted  subject  of  my  affianced 
lord,  King  James." 

Now  it  so  happened  that  Monsieur  de  Chateau- 
doux had  not  seen  Wogan  during  Wogan's  early 
visit  to  Ohlau,  because  the  Frenchman  was  confined 
to  his  apartment  with  a  slight  visitation  of  gout. 
So  there  was  no  recognition  in  the  amazed  stare 
with  which  he  now  favored  Wogan. 

"Her  Highness  gives  me  my  true  name  and  my 
true  character,"  Wogan  explained.  "These  papers 
will  assure  you  of  the  validity  of  my  mission." 

As  he  spoke  he  handed  to  Chateaudoux  the  letters 
from  James  Sobieski,  which  the  Frenchman  read 

140 


METAMORPHOSIS 

with  an  air  of  profound  astonishment.  But  if  he 
was  amazed  by  the  sudden  transformation  of  an 
enemy  into  a  friend,  greater  amazement  was  in 
store  for  him  when  Wogan  briefly  unfolded  his  plan 
for  the  Princess's  immediate  escape.  In  a  moment 
the  punctilious,  formal  official  was  up  in  arms 
against  the  eccentricity  and  the  perils  of  the  enter- 
prise. 

"Your  Highness,  Chevalier,"  he  protested,  look- 
ing at  each  in  turn,  "what  you  propose  is  no  more 
than  madness.  Consider  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather.  How  is  a  delicately  nurtured  female  like 
her  Highness  to  venture  abroad  on  such  a  night  ? 
Why,  she  would  be  like  to  die  of  exposure  before 
this  madcap  journey  were  well  begun." 

Wogan  was  of  a  mind  to  answer  the  objector 
something  hotly,  but  Clementina  gave  him  a  glance 
that  asked  for  patience.  Then  she  addressed  Mon- 
sieur de  Chateaudoux,  and  the  tone  of  her  voice  was 
tender,  coaxing,  appealing,  the  tone  of  voice  that 
a  winsome,  petted  child  would  wisely  use  when  it 
wished  to  cajole  some  favor  out  of  a  well-loved 
nurse  that  resisted  compliance  merely  for  the  pleas- 
ure of  being  persuaded  to  yield.  Wogan,  listening 
to  her,  felt  suddenly  convinced  that  the  man  could 
not  exist  who  could  be  obdurate  to  the  appeal  of 
that  enchanting  voice,  to  the  command  of  those 
enchanting  eyes. 

"My  dear,  good  Chateaudoux,"  she  pleaded,  "do 
you  not  know  how  I  long  to  get  away  from  this 

141 


THE   KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

horrid  place  ?  I  am  sure  that  you  do  and  that  you 
will  never  be  the  person  to  put  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  my  escape." 

Chateaudoux  was  plainly  influenced  by  the  man- 
ner of  the  Princess,  but  for  form's  sake  he  held  out 
and  repeated  his  arguments  about  the  inclemency 
of  the  weather  and  the  inadvisability  of  a  young 
woman  going  abroad  on  such  a  night. 

"My  dear  old  friend,"  Clementina  continued, 
"you  are  really  unreasonable.  I  am  neither  sugar 
nor  salt  that  I  must  needs  melt  with  a  little  wetting." 

Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  was  not  entirely  pla- 
cated. He  shook  his  head  querulously,  and,  turning 
to  Wogan,  addressed  him  in  a  voice  that  was  at  once 
plaintive  and  peevish.  "Cannot  you,"  he  asked, 
"postpone  this  questionable  experiment  at  least  for 
another  evening  or  two,  when  the  terrible  severity 
of  the  present  weather  shall  have  had  the  opportunity 
to  abate  ?  Surely  there  is  no  such  desperate  hurry." 

Wogan  restrained  heroically  his  itching  desire  to 
take  the  pedantic  gentleman  by  the  two  shoulders 
and  give  him  a  good  shaking.  It  was  in  a  voice  that 
was  tuned  to  the  most  admirable  politeness  that  he 
answered  Chateaudoux. 

"Unfortunately,"  he  declared,  "there  is  hurry 
and  very  desperate  hurry  indeed.  I  have  come  here 
under  conditions  which  commend  me  to  the  con- 
fidence of  the  Governor  and  allow  her  Highness  and 
myself  to  take  immediate  action  wholly  unsus- 
pected. The  delay  of  a  day  would  mean  inevitable 

142  » 


METAMORPHOSIS 

detection,  and  the  ruin  of  all  our  hopes.  If  you 
make  objections  now  and  venture  to  disobey  the 
commands  of  the  Prince,  your  master,  you  take 
upon  yourself  a  tremendous  responsibility  and  act 
very  criminally  toward  her  Highness  and  my  royal 
master." 

Chateaudoux's  obstinacy  appeared  to  be  some- 
thing staggered  by  the  earnestness  of  Wogan.  But 
before  he  could  say  anything  in  reply  to  Wogan's 
vehement  words  the  Princess  spoke,  this  time  very 
quietly  and  firmly  and  decisively. 

"Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux,"  she  said,  "will 
make  no  objections  and  take  no  responsibility. 
Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  is  my  friend,  but  he  is 
also  my  servant,  and  he  will  understand  that  I  ex- 
pect to  be  obeyed  when  I  order  him  to  put  no  ob- 
stacle in  the  way  of  my  following  out  the  wishes  of 
my  father." 

She  paused  for  a  moment,  and  then  added  some 
softer  words  in  a  softer  voice,  as  she  saw  the  ex- 
pression of  pain  at  her  reprimand  on  the  face  of 
Chateaudoux.  "Come,  sir,  you  should  rejoice  to 
find  that  my  father's  daughter  has  friends  that  are 
ready  to  help  her  to  her  heart's  desire." 

As  she  spoke  she  extended  her  hand  graciously, 
and  Chateaudoux  caught  it  and  kissed  it  reverently, 
kneeling  on  one  knee  as  he  did  so.  At  a  gesture 
from  Clementina  he  rose  again  and  stood  waiting 
upon  her  further  words. 

"This  gentleman,"  Clementina  said,  indicating 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

Wogan,  "has  rallied  some  good  and  gallant  soldiers 
like  himself  to  carry  me  to  liberty  and  my  King. 
By  virtue  of  my  father's  order  he  is  in  command 
here.  Chevalier,  will  you  be  so  good  as  to  tell 
Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  what  you  wish  him  to 
do  ?" 

Wogan  explained  to  Chateaudoux  that  he  desired 
him  to  act  for  this  evening  as  he  had  acted  for  all 
the  earlier  evenings  of  the  Princess's  captivity;  to 
be  busy  at  his  writing-table  in  the  antechamber, 
and  to  answer  any  inquiries  concerning  the  Princess, 
if  any  inquiries  were  made,  with  the  announcement 
that  her  Highness,  feeling  herself  indisposed,  had 
retired  to  her  bed  for  the  night.  To  this  Chateau- 
doux agreed  docilely  enough,  and  in  obedience  to  a 
gesture  of  dismissal  from  Clementina  he  quitted  the 
room.  But  not  for  long. 


XI 

THUNDER   FROM    A   CLEAR   SKY 

WHILE  Wogan  was  giving  his  final  instructions 
to  the  Princess  he  was  hugging  himself  with 
satisfaction  at  the  thought  that  the  business  was 
going  so  briskly  and  so  smoothly.  All  of  a  sudden 
came  thunder  out  of  a  clear  sky  and  shattered  his 
satisfaction. 

The  door  opened  and  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux, 
that  had  left  them  but  a  few  minutes  before,  entered 
with  trembling  gestures  and  a  face  that  boded 
despair. 

"All  is  lost!"  he  stammered.  "I  have  this  in- 
stant received  a  message  from  his  Excellency  Gen- 
eral Heister  in  which  he  desires  me  to  inform  your 
Highness  that  his  Highness  the  Prince  of  Niemen 
has  just  arrived  in  Innspruck,  and  requests  the 
honor  of  an  immediate  audience  with  your  High- 
ness." 

As  he  spoke  the  poor  gentleman  was  so  overcome 
by  his  emotions  that  he  almost  suffered  himself  to 
sink  into  a  chair.  Happily,  however,  his  sense  of 
etiquette  was  even  stronger  than  his  sense  of  peril. 
He  was  glad  to  remember  later  that  even  in  that 

H5 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

moment  of  crisis  he  had  the  propriety  to  remain 
standing  in  the  presence  of  the  Princess,  in  spite  of 
the  disagreeable  and  insistent  feeling  of  giving  at 
the  knees  that  tempted  him  to  abjection. 

"The  Prince  of  Niemen!"  Wogan  ejaculated  in  a 
voice  that  all  his  self-command  could  not  prevent 
from  betraying  astonishment  and  alarm.  Instantly 
he  recovered  his  equanimity.  Clementina,  looking 
from  Chateaudoux,  that  was  the  picture  of  panic,  to 
Wogan,  saw  resolution  in  his  face  and  was  com- 
forted. 

"All  is  not  lost!"  Wogan  cried  swiftly  to  Clemen- 
tina. "Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  has  every  reason 
to  be  disturbed,  but  he  overrates  the  danger."  He 
turned  to  Chateaudoux  and  questioned,  "Does  the 
Prince  of  Niemen  know  that  I  am  here  ?" 

Chateaudoux  made  a  desperate  effort  to  pull  him- 
self together.  "The  Prince  of  Niemen  knows,"  he 
said,  "that  the  British  envoy,  Sir  Timothy  Wyn- 
stock,  is  here.  General  Heister  acquainted  him,  it 
seems,  with  that  fact,  and  it  appears  that  his  High- 
ness expressed  great  joy  at  the  prospect  of  renewing 
his  acquaintance  with  a  most  agreeable  English- 
man." 

As  he  spoke  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  sighed 
heavily  and  clasped  and  unclasped  his  ringers 
nervously.  He  was  too  dismayed  to  observe  that 
Wogan  did  not  seem  to  be  terror-struck  at  the  pros- 
pect of  facing  the  Prince  of  Niemen.  But  Wogan's 
words  now  served  to  reassure  him. 

146 


THUNDER    FROM    A   CLEAR   SKY 

"The  Prince  of  Niemen,"  he  said,  "has  met  me 
already;  the  Prince  believes  me  to  be,  not  Charles 
Wogan,  but  the  English  envoy,  Sir  Timothy  Wyn- 
stock.  There  is  no  time  to  explain  this  now,  but 
I  assure  you  that  it  will  be  quite  safe  for  me  to  meet 
him  here.  Pray  instruct  General  Heister's  mes- 
senger to  assure  the  Prince  of  Niemen  that  her 
Highness  will  be  delighted  to  receive  him  imme- 
diately, and  that  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock  is  eager  to 
renew  acquaintanceship  with  his  Highness.  Away, 
man!  Let  me  have  but  five  minutes  before  the 
Prince  arrives  and  all  will  be  well." 

The  perplexed  Chateaudoux,  shuttlecock  of  as- 
tounding emotions,  glanced  at  Clementina,  and, 
reading  in  her  face  approval  of  what  Wogan  said, 
made  as  formal  a  reverence  as  the  state  of  his 
nerves  could  permit,  and  quitted  the  room.  In- 
stantly Wogan  addressed  Clementina. 

"I  thought,"  he  said,  "that  I  had  put  this  fellow 
of  Niemen  out  of  my  path  for  the  time.  How  he 
got  here  puzzles  me,  but  there  is  no  time  for  ex- 
planation or  speculation.  His  coming  does  not  dis- 
turb my  plans  at  all;  it  only  makes  hurry  more  es- 
sential than  ever.  Your  Highness  must  be  ofF  at 
once." 

Clementina  stared  amazed.  "Then  who  will  re- 
ceive the  Prince  ?"  she  asked. 

"Your  double,"  Wogan  answered.  "Your  High- 
ness must  forgive  my  lack  of  ceremony." 

He  went  hurriedly,  as  he  spoke,  to  the  door  of 


THE    KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

the  bedchamber,  and  tapped  sharply  on  it.     "  Jane, 
Jane,  are  you  ready  ?"  he  cried. 

From  inside  came  Jane's  impatient  answer:  "In 
a  minute.  I'm  hooking  myself  up." 

"Never  mind  the  hooks,"  Wogan  commanded. 
"Come  here  this  instant!" 

In  obedience  to  his  imperative  summons,  Jane 
entered  the  room,  somewhat  dishevelled  and  hur- 
riedly completing  her  toilet  as  she  walked. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  she  asked.  "It  takes 
time  to  change  from  the  foolish  things  you  men 
wear — " 

Wogan  interrupted  her  and  uttered  a  protest. 
"Hush!"  he  said.  "We  are  faced  by  an  unex- 
pected peril.  The  Prince  of  Niemen,  whom  I  be- 
lieved to  be  leagues  away,  has  suddenly  arrived  and 
desires  to  see  her  Highness.  Now,  you  must  take 
her  Highness's  place." 

"Sure  the  man  will  know  me!"  Jane  cried,  with 
a  great  look  of  alarm. 

"No,"  Wogan  asserted,  reassuringly,  "his  High- 
ness has  never  seen  the  Princess." 

"Never,"  Clementina  confirmed. 

Jane  continued  to  protest.  "But  there  are  pict- 
ures, miniatures,"  she  insisted,  and  again  Wogan 
interrupted  her. 

"Don't  argue,  Jane!"  he  ordered.  "You  are  fair, 
like  her  Highness;  blue-eyed,  like  her  Highness; 
you  are  clad  in  her  Highness's  clothes;  in  this  light 
you  will  pass  well  enough." 

148 


THUNDER    FROM    A   CLEAR   SKY 

"Well  enough,  indeed!"  Jane  muttered,  indig- 
nantly, but  no  one  heeded  her. 

Clementina  questioned  Wogan:  "Sir,  are  we 
not  asking  too  much  of  this  lady  ?" 

"Madame,  I  think  not,"  Wogan  answered.  "The 
girl  is  a  brave  girl,  and  will  keep  her  word  and  do 
as  she  is  told,  will  you  not,  Jane  ?" 

"Yes,  Charles  Wogan,"  the  girl  answered  curtly. 

Indifferent  to  her  abruptness,  Wogan  continued 
his  instructions.  "You  will  sit  here  so,"  he  ex- 
plained, "with  your  back  to  the  door  and  affect  to 
be  in  a  tantrum.  You  are  to  be  coy  to  the  Prince 
and  hostile  to  me." 

"As  you  please," Jane  said,  as  she  obeyed  Wogan's 
directions. 

Clementina  questioned,  "And  I?" 

"You,  Madame,"  Wogan  answered,  "will  you 
please  go  by  the  way  you  spoke  of  and  wait  in  the 
alley  ?  I  will  join  you  there  swiftly.  Put  a  warm 
cloak  about  you,  for  God's  love,  but  also,  for  God's 
love,  be  swift  and  brisk." 

Clementina  looked  at  Wogan  with  a  bright  smile. 
"You  shall  find  me  both  in  this  need,"  she  answered, 
confidently.  She  went  swiftly  to  the  table,  as  she 
spoke,  and  very  rapidly  wrote  a  few  lines  on  a  sheet 
of  paper,  which  she  sealed  and  handed  to  Jane,  tell- 
ing her  to  give  it  up  to  be  delivered  to  her  mother 
as  soon  as  her  women  came  about  her.  With 
Wogan's  aid  she  flung  the  heavy  riding  -  cloak 
about  her  and  drew  the  capote  over  her  head. 

149 


When  she  had  done  this  she  suddenly  seemed  to 
remember  something,  for  she  ran  into  the  bedroom, 
caught  up  a  case  that  was  lying  on  her  dressing- 
table,  and,  concealing  it  under  the  cloak,  came  forth 
again. 

"I  am  ready,"  she  said,  simply.  She  held  out 
her  hand,  and  Wogan  kissed  it  reverentially. 

"Remember,"  he  murmured,  "the  alley  that  leads 
to  the  bridge.  I  will  be  there  as  soon  as  I  get  rid 
of  this  intrusive  Prince." 

Clementina  smiled  upon  him,  and  in  another  mo- 
ment she  had  quitted  the  room  by  the  door  that  con- 
ducted to  the  garden. 


XII 

THE    SHAM    PRINCESS 

JANE  turned  to  Wogan  with  a  frowning  face. 
"You  are  making  me  play  a  pretty  game, 
Charles  Wogan,"  she  said,  reproachfully. 

Wogan  shook  his  head  in  reproof  of  her  petulance. 
"It  is  a  great  game,"  he  declared,  "and  you  ought 
to  be  glad  to  be  called  upon  to  play  so  great  a  part 
in  it.  You  will  be  remembered  with  honor,  I  prom- 
ise you,  so  long  as  brave  deeds  are  remembered.'* 

Jane  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  made  a  disdain- 
ful face,  but  she  was  not  displeased  at  the  praise  of 
her  heroism,  and  she  was  attracted  by  her  own  ap- 
pearance in  the  rich  habiliments  of  the  Princess. 
She  peacocked  before  a  mirror,  minced,  and  ambled 
across  the  room,  and  asked  Wogan  if  she  did  not 
look  for  all  the  world  like  a  real  princess.  Wogan 
had  just  assured  her  warmly  that  she  seemed  indeed 
to  be  born  to  the  purple,  when  his  ear  caught  the 
sound  of  footsteps  approaching.  Instantly  he  got 
Jane  into  a  position  of  disdain  at  the  window  and 
stood  mournfully  regarding  her,  when  the  door  of 
the  antechamber  opened,  and  Monsieur  de  Cha- 
teaudoux  came  into  the  apartment  with  the  Prince 


of  Niemen  at  his  side.  Chateaudoux  announced 
his  companion  and  immediately  withdrew. 

Niemen  advanced  with  the  arrogance  of  carriage 
familiar  to  him.  Though  he  had  been  riding  hard 
he  showed  no  signs  of  fatigue.  He  addressed  a  pro- 
found salutation  to  the  lady  in  the  window,  whom  he 
took  to  be  the  Princess,  and  then  turned  to  Wogan, 
who  came  forward  and  met  the  Prince  with  extended 
hands  and  a  well-feigned  air  of  astonished  greeting. 

"Your  Serene  Highness  is  very  welcome,"  he 
cried.  "I  had  begun  to  marvel  at  your  delay." 

Niemen's  unpleasing  face  looked  less  pleasing 
than  ever  to  Wogan  as  he  watched  it,  but  he  was 
glad  to  read  there  no  distrust  of  the  English  envoy. 

"You  will  marvel  more,  Sir  Wynstock,"  the  Prince 
said,  "when  you  learn  its  cause."  As  he  spoke  he 
glanced  toward  where  Jane  was  sitting  apart  with 
averted  head,  and  began,  "Her  Highness — 

Wogan  interrupted  him,  whispering  into  his  ear: 
"Her  Highness  is  not  in  the  best  of  tempers.  I 
have  talked  to  her  like  a  father,  but  she  makes  a 
most  undutiful  daughter."  He  quitted  the  Prince 
and,  moving  a  little  away  toward  Jane,  spoke  in  a 
louder  voice.  "Your  Highness,  here  is  the  Prince 
of  Niemen  come  to  pay  his  respects." 

Jane  answered  sourly  over  her  shoulder.  "I 
don't  want  his  respects,  and  I  don't  want  him." 

Wogan  affected  an  air  of  pained  agitation.  "  Dear, 
dear,"  he  said,  confidentially  to  the  Prince,  "this 
is  very  distressing."  He  turned  from  Niemen  and 


THE   SHAM    PRINCESS 

again  addressed  the  feigned  Princess.  "Let  me  en- 
treat you  to  be  reasonable,  sweet  Princess,"  he 
pleaded. 

"Do  not  dare  to  call  me  sweet  Princess!"  Jane 
answered,  peremptorily.  "You  know  very  well 
that  I  am  reasonable." 

Wogan  again  confided  his  cares  to  Niemen.  "Her 
Highness  is  wofully  wayward,"  he  complained. 
"We  have  been  on  these  terms  this  half-hour.  I 
am  heartily  glad  you  have  come.  Maybe  you  can 
manage  her." 

Thus  urged,  Niemen,  who  had  every  confidence 
in  his  powers  of  placating  womankind  of  any  age 
or  rank,  advanced  a  little  nearer  to  where  Jane  sat 
and  began  to  address  her  in  a  smooth,  wooing 
voice.  "I  hope,"  he  said,  "your  Highness  will  for- 
give my  ardor,  my  assiduity — " 

He  got  no  farther,  for  Jane  promptly  interrupted 
him.  "I  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind,"  she  said, 
emphatically,  and  the  sharp  aggressiveness  of  her 
speech  and  manner  staggered  even  the  self-com- 
placency of  the  Prince  of  Niemen. 

Wogan  was  again  the  confidential  interpreter. 
"Her  Highness  is  fretful,"  he  whispered.  "I  think 
she  is  vexed  at  your  tardy  coming."  He  raised  his 
voice  a  little  for  the  benefit  of  the  sham  Princess. 
"Perhaps,"  he  suggested,  "if  your  Highness  were 
to  narrate  the  cause  of  your  delay — " 

The  idea  seemed  to  please  Niemen.  "Indeed," 
he  said,  with  alacrity,  airing  his  snufF-box,  "  I  think 


THE   KING    OVER   THE    WATER 

her  Highness  may  not  find  my  narrative  unworthy 
of  attention."  He  offered  his  box  to  Wogan,  who 
took  a  refreshing  pinch.  "It  is  for  all  the  world 
like  a  fairy  tale,"  he  asserted.  He  took  a  pinch 
and  continued:  "Your  Highness  must  know  that 
I  had  an  appointment  at  Strasbourgh  with  my  lord 
Sir  Wynstock." 

"A  pretty  pair!"  Jane  grunted. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  Niemen  said,  not  catching 
the  meaning  of  her  words,  but  realizing  and  resent- 
ing their  manner. 

Wogan  went  hurriedly  to  Jane's  side,  affected  to 
exchange  some  whispered  words  with  her,  and  then 
returned  to  Niemen.  "Her  Highness,"  Wogan  ex- 
plained, deftly,  "expresses  her  interest.  Pray 
continue." 

"I  met  Milord  as  arranged,"  the  mollified  Nie- 
men continued,  indicating  Wogan,  who  bowed  pro- 
foundly. "We  had  a  most  satisfactory  interview, 
and  parted  on  the  understanding  that  we  were  to 
meet  at  the  bridge  in  an  hour's  time." 

"I  kept  tryst,"  Wogan,  interpolating,  assured 
him.  "I  waited  a  weary  while,  and  then,  think- 
ing you  had  changed  your  mind,  rode  on  my  way. 
What  in  fortune's  name  delayed  you  ?" 

"It  was  some  trick  of  those  damned  Jacobites  to 
put  me  out  of  the  way,"  Niemen  explained.  "But 
I've  baffled  the  rascals." 

"What  happened  to  your  Highness?"  Wogan 
asked,  with  an  eagerness  that  was  by  no  means 

154 


THE   SHAM    PRINCESS 

feigned.  "Do you  not  see  that  the  Princess  is  well- 
nigh  fainting  with  anxiety  ?" 

Jane  snapped  at  him.  "Please  speak  for  your- 
self!" she  cried,  tartly. 

But  Niemen  was  now  embarked  upon  his  narra- 
tive, and  not  to  be  dissuaded  from  persisting  by 
a  sour  look  or  so.  "As  I  was  meditating  over  my 
wine,"  he  said,  "and  drinking  to  your  Highness's 
loveliness,  I  was  suddenly  affronted  by  a  drunken 
ruffian,  who  would  not  rest  until  he  had  picked  a 
quarrel  with  me.  I  was  for  declining  his  challenge, 
seeing  his  condition  and  being  ignorant  of  his  breed- 
ing, but  a  couple  of  gentlemen  who  happened  to 
witness  our  altercation  assured  me  that  the  fellow 
was  a  gentleman,  and  that  I  should  not  derogate  in 
crossing  swords  with  him." 

"Very  affable  and  valiant,"  Wogan  commented. 

Niemen  nodded  agreement  and  went  on:  "The 
two  gentlemen  agreed  to  act  as  our  seconds,  and  we 
repaired  to  a  pleasant  meadow  outside  the  town. 
But  on  the  way  I  noticed  that  my  antagonist's, 
drunkenness  began  very  conspicuously  to  dissipate." 

"Damn  the  fool!"  Wogan  cried,  involuntarily. 

The  Prince  turned  to  him.  "  I  beg  your  pardon," 
he  said. 

"I  said  the  damned  rascal,"  Wogan  explained, 
hastily. 

"Ah,  you  begin  to  see  through  the  plot,"  Niemen 
cried.  "So  did  I,  and  my  suspicions  were  confirmed 
when  I  saw  my  adversary  exchange  a  wink  with  one 
11  155 


THE    KING   OVER   THE  WATER 

of  those  two  gentlemen  that  were  so  ready  to  act 
for  us." 

Wogan  clenched  his  fists.  "Oh,  the  idiot!"  he 
muttered,  under  his  breath. 

Niemen  did  not  observe  his  irritation,  and  went 
on  with  his  recital.  "Well,  lady,  I  am  a  pretty 
good  swordsman,  but  I  am  yet  better  a  strategist. 
I  saw  that  these  fellows  were  set  on  to  make  away 
with  me,  so  I  resolved  to  foil  them,  and  I  did." 

The  Prince  paused  for  a  moment  and  Wogan, 
scarcely  able  to  restrain  his  impatience,  spurred  him 
eagerly  to  resume.  "Well,  well,  what  then?"  he 
cried,  with  the  liveliest  show  of  interest. 

The  Prince,  thus  encouraged,  continued  his  nar- 
rative. "On  my  way,"  he  said,  with  a  cunning 
smile,  "whenever  I  met  any  personage  of  carriage 
and  distinction,  or  any  citizen  of  quality,  I  stopped 
him,  gave  him  my  name  and  rank  and  my  imme- 
diate business,  and  asked  him  for  his  company  at 
our  pleasant  encounter.  Thus  we  were  quite  a  little 
crowd  of  curious  when  we  came  to  our  battle- 
ground." 

Wogan  eyed  the  Prince  with  a  look  of  feigned  ad- 
miration. "You  did  very  well,"  he  applauded. 

Niemen  smiled  complacently.  "Excellently,"  he 
said.  "I  secured  an  impartial  audience.  We  had 
a  fine  field  and  no  favor.  My  bully  that  meant  to 
murder  me  came  ramping  at  me  like  a  dragon,  but 
I,  with  one  of  my  Italianate  tricks,  pricked  his  sword 
out  of  his  fingers  before  we  had  wasted  a  twelfth 

156 


THE   SHAM    PRINCESS 

part  of  the  world's  hours.  There  was  my  bully  at 
my  mercy,  but  I  had  a  mind  to  be  kind  and  gave 
him  back  his  blade,  with  a  bow.  The  others  that 
were  in  the  plot  would  have  pursued  the  quarrel, 
but  I,  in  my  calm  refusal,  had  the  sympathy  of  the 
company.  So  the  rascal  assassins  were  out-tricked, 
and  I  came  away  with  the  honors,  the  laurels,  and 
a  smooth  skin.  Only  I  was  late  for  my  appoint- 
ment." 

Here  the  Prince  bowed  to  Wogan,  who  smiled  as 
cheerfully  as  he  could.  "Well,  better  late  than 
never,"  he  said,  masquerading  his  anger  as  satis- 
faction. Then  approaching  the  Prince  he  drew  him 
a  little  on  one  side  and  whispered  in  his  ear. 

"I  am  afraid,"  he  said,  "her  Highness  is  in  a 
detestable  humor.  It  would  really  be  better  to 
leave  her  with  me  for  a  time  while  I  reason  with 
her." 

Now  the  Prince,  who  prided  himself  on  his  skill 
as  a  lady-killer,  was  by  no  means  unwilling  to  leave 
the  presence  of  a  lady  so  aggressively  hostile  as  the 
Princess  was  patently  proving  herself  to  be.  So 
he  jumped  at  the  offer. 

"  By  all  means,"  he  said,  briskly.  "His  Excellency 
the  Governor  has  invited  me  to  sup  with  him.  Will 
you  be  of  the  party  ?" 

Wogan  shook  his  head  gloomily.  "I  am  afraid 
not,"  he  answered.  "I  am  unhappily  of  a  delicate 
composition  and  cannot  abide  late  hours;  moreover, 
all  this  excitement  has  exhausted  me." 

'57 


THE   KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

"  I  am  indeed  grieved,"  Niemen  professed  politely, 
with  politeness  that  meant  nothing. 

Wogan  persisted  in  explaining.  "I  have  taken 
my  lodgings  at  an  inn  on  the  fringe  of  the  town,"  he 
said,  "as  I  have  to  resume  my  travels  betimes  in  the 
morning.  His  Excellency  wished  me  to  accept  the 
hospitality  of  his  roof,  but  I  thought  it  better  for  an 
envoy  to  lie  apart,  so  I  stuck  to  my  hostlery.  My 
present  plan  is  to  get  to  bed  as  soon  as  possible  and 
sleep  off  my  fatigue.  Will  you  make  my  excuses 
to  the  Governor  and  say  that  I  shall  wait  upon  him 
early  to-morrow  morning  ?" 

Niemen  nodded  agreement.  "Certainly,"  he 
said.  In  his  inwards  he  was  thinking  that  he  and 
Heister  would  get  on  better  without  the  phleg- 
matic Briton.  He  turned  to  the  girl,  who  still  sat 
with  averted  head,  and  made  her  a  florid  salutation. 
"Your  Highness,"  he  said,  ceremoniously,  "I  take 
my  respectful  leave." 

Jane's  only  answer  to  this  courtesy  was  a  very 
audible,  "Thank  Heaven!"  which  Wogan  managed 
successfully  to  drown  with  an  improvised  fit  of 
coughing. 

He  addressed  the  Prince  apologetically.  "You 
see,"  he  said,  with  a  note  of  pensive  melancholy  in 
his  voice,  "her  Highness  is  a  little  difficult  to  man- 
age. I  shall  bring  her  round,  believe  me.  Wait 
till  to-morrow,  till  to-morrow,  my  dear  Prince." 

Niemen  saluted  him.  "Till  to-morrow,  my  dear 
Sir  Wynstock,"  he  said,  and  with  another  reverence 

158 


THE   SHAM    PRINCESS 

to  the  sham  Princess  he  quitted  the  apartment.  He 
found  Chateaudoux  waiting  for  him  inwardly  per- 
turbed, but  outwardly  as  composed  as  he  could 
manage  to  look,  and  Chateaudoux  brought  him  to 
the  wintry  street  where  his  carriage  waited,  and 
bowed  him  off  the  premises  very  ceremoniously. 
Neither  of  the  men  said  anything  to  the  other  of 
Niemen's  mission.  Their  only  speech  was  of  the 
weather  and  the  latest  court  news  of  Paris  and 
Vienna.  So  they  parted,  smiling,  polite,  heartily 
hating  each  other. 


XIII 

JANE    MAKES   AN   ASSERTION 

WHEN  Wogan  and  Jane  were  left  alone,  Wogan 
went  up  to  the  girl  and  commended  her  play- 
acting. "Well  done,  you,"  he  said,  "for  an  impish 
princess.  You  showed  the  royal  devil  of  a  temper." 
He  meant  well,  and  to  praise,  but  his  purpose  failed 
wofully. 

The  girl  rose  to  her  feet  and  confronted  him  with 
clenched  hands  and  angry  eyes,  a  flame-faced  fury 
in  borrowed  plumes.  "Are  you  in  love  with  your 
pretty  Princess  ?"  she  asked,  with  the  savage  sharp- 
ness of  an  animal  that  snaps  at  a  caressing  hand. 

Wogan  was  staggered  by  the  ferocity  of  her  at- 
tack as  a  man  might  be  staggered  on  a  summer's 
day  by  the  sudden  grumbling  of  an  earthquake. 
"Child,"  he  cried,  in  dismay,  "are  you  wild?  I 
see  her  Highness  almost  for  the  first  time." 

Jane  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  smiled  sourly, 
with  her  lids  drawn  together  and  her  eyes  glinting 
wickedly  through  two  slits.  "Did  you  never  hear 
of  love  at  first  sight?"  she  asked,  deriding  him 
patently. 

Wogan  shook  his  head.  "You  are  crazy,"  he 
1 60 


JANE   MAKES   AN    ASSERTION 

protested,  "or  else  it  is  ashamed  of  yourself  you 
would  be  to  think  such  thoughts." 

The  girl  laughed  bitterly.  "Oh,"  she  said,  "you 
must  not  think  me  a  dunce  or  a  dummy.  I  noticed 
how  your  eyes  widened  and  your  lips  tightened  as 
you  looked  at  her." 

Wogan  began  to  feel  an  unreasonable,  an  un- 
necessary rage  of  indignation  at  the  girl's  fancy. 
"For  Heaven's  sake  hold  your  tongue!"  he  ordered, 
hotly.  "She  is  a  royal  princess,  the  plighted  bride 
of  my  King,  and  you  are  a  wicked  vixen  to  whisper 
such  mischief.  Now  go  to  your  bed  and  your  head- 
ache as  fast  as  you  can!" 

The  girl  closed  her  eyes  wholly  for  an  instant, 
then  opened  them  widely  and  stared  defiantly  at 
Wogan.  Without  a  word  she  turned  to  go,  then 
she  swiftly  turned  back  and  extended  her  hands 
to  him.  "  I  am  doing  a  good  deal  for  you,  Charles 
Wogan,"  she  said,  wistfully,  "because  I  like  you, 
and  for  this  Princess  of  yours,  whom  I  do  not  like 
at  all.  Are  you  going  to  give  me  nothing  to  cheer 
my  spirits  in  this  predicament  ?" 

Wogan  looked  at  the  girl  uneasily.  Her  tricks 
and  caprices  teased  him  with  an  unexpected  sense 
of  novelty  in  their  new  and  perilous  environment. 
He  was  eager  to  pacify  her,  to  placate  her  on  whom 
so  much  depended,  but  he  knew  not  the  means  to 
that  end. 

"What  can  I  give  you,  Jane?"  he  asked,  gently 
enough,  but  he  was  wishing  in  his  heart  that  he 

161 


THE    KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

had  pitched  upon  some  less  whimsical  confed- 
erate. 

Jane  gazed  at  him  in  frank  amazement.  "And 
you  an  Irishman,"  she  said,  pathetically,  "to  be 
asking  that  same."  And  as  she  spoke  she  tiptoed 
a  little  and  tilted  her  pretty,  impudent  face  nearer 
to  his,  and  her  red  mouth  made  invitation. 

All  Wogan's  thoughts  were  far  away  from  care- 
less kisses.  He  was  an  Irishman,  and  he  knew  the 
sweetness  of  young  lips  and  the  innocence  with 
which  they  often  took  and  gave  salutation,  and  he 
would,  as  a  rule,  have  found  himself  ready  enough 
for  the  pleasant  encounter.  But  now  he  knew  not 
wherefore,  or  he  would  not  allow  himself  to  know 
wherefore,  he  wished  with  all  his  heart  that  Jane 
had  asked  him  for  some  other  favor.  It  was  nothing 
indeed  to  kiss  a  pretty  girl  who  was  doing  you  a 
service,  and  who  demanded  such  dainty  payment, 
and  yet,  somehow,  just  then  it  seemed  to  Wogan  a 
great  price  to  pay,  and  he  resented  bitterly  the 
having  to  pay  it.  But  there  was  no  help  for  it. 

"Forgive  me,"  he  pleaded,  with  as  gay  an  air  as 
he  could  command  of  being  one  that  was  caught  in 
an  obvious  sin  of  omission,  and  was  eager  to  prove 
his  contrition.  He  bent  and  kissed  the  soft 
mouth  that  was  proffered  to  his  embrace,  but  for 
the  life  of  him  he  could  not  contrive  to  make  the 
salute  either  warm  or  convincing,  and  Jane  first 
flushed  and  then  paled  as  she  received  the  unim- 
passioned  caress.  Wogan  cursed  himself  for  being 

162 


JANE   MAKES    AN   ASSERTION 

so  poor  a  player.  He  rested  his  hand  for  an  in- 
stant tenderly  upon  the  girl's  head. 

"Good-night,  Jane,"  he  murmured;  "good-night, 
and  God  bless  you  for  your  help." 

Jane  was  almost  sobbing;  tears  misted  her  eyes; 
she  tried  to  speak,  and  words  came  in  a  broken 
voice.  "God  bless  you,  Charles  Wogan,"  she 
faltered,  "and  guard  you  from  all  dangers  and 
keep  your  soul  as  straight  as  your  body." 

She  swung  on  her  heels  when  she  had  said  her 
little  speech,  and  disappeared  through  the  doors  of 
the  Princess's  bedroom.  Wogan  looked  after  her 
sadly  enough.  Then,  thrusting  his  hand  into  his 
breast-pocket,  he  drew  thence  the  miniature  of  the 
Princess  Clementina,  and  gazed  at  it  earnestly. 

Up  to  this  time  the  whole  matter  had  been  no 
more  to  Wogan  than  an  adventure,  one  more  brill- 
iant episode  in  the  life  of  a  man  whose  life  had 
been  all  adventure  for  well-nigh  as  long  as  he  could 
clearly  remember.  To  filch  a  princess  from  the 
fingers  that  kept  her  prisoner  was  no  greater  enter- 
prise than  to  invade  England  for  the  King's  cause, 
or  to  break  prison  at  Newgate  when  that  cause  had 
been  lost.  It  was  all  in  the  day's  work  for  one 
that  served  King  James  and  loved  his  service. 
But  now,  all  of  a  sudden,  the  business  in  hand 
seemed  very  different  from  any  other  business  that 
he  had  undertaken  on  his  King's  behalf.  He  found 
himself  abruptly  warned  by  a  girl's  words  that  he 
had  a  secret,  and  that  he  must  be  persistently  watch- 

163 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

ful  lest  his  secret  should  cease  to  be  his  secret.  It 
was  natural  that  the  lady  whom  fate  had  placed  so 
strangely  in  his  care  should  be  often  in  his  thoughts; 
perhaps  it  was  natural  that  those  thoughts  should 
change  their  temper,  or,  it  may  be,  more  clearly  de- 
fine their  temper,  as  the  swift  passage  of  time  had 
again  brought  him  face  to  face  with  the  Princess 
and  made  the  promised  intimacy  of  the  common 
peril  seem  the  sweeter.  But  Wogan  fought  stub- 
bornly against  the  frank  recognition  of  the  misfort- 
une that  had  come  upon  him.  The  thing  should  not 
be;  therefore  it  could  not  be;  so  he  strove  to  argue 
with  himself,  so  he  strove  to  silence  the  voice  of  his 
heart. 

Wogan  seemed  to  be  thinking  for  an  age  during 
the  few  seconds  in  which  he  stared  at  the  portrait 
of  the  Princess.  The  painter  had  done  his  work 
well;  there  was  no  need  for  him  to  be  courtly  in 
flattery;  he  was  only  called  upon  to  reproduce 
Clementina's  loveliness  as  cunningly  as  he  could. 
The  beauty  of  the  miniature  had  roused  the  raptur- 
ous enthusiasm  of  Wogan's  comrades  in  the  enter- 
prise on  the  day  when  he  had  shown  it  to  them 
during  their  meeting  at  the  "Blue  Moon"  in 
Strasbourgh.  Wogan  had  known  then  well  enough 
that  the  image,  exquisite  though  it  was,  could  give 
no  true  idea  of  its  original.  He  knew  that  better 
now,  after  looking  again  on  Clementina's  face. 

With  a  sigh  Wogan  lifted  the  picture  toward  his 
lips  as  if  with  the  intention  of  kissing  the  painted 

164 


JANE   MAKES    AN    ASSERTION 

presentment.  Suddenly  he  restrained  himself,  and 
with  another  sigh  he  thrust  the  portrait  back  into 
its  hiding-place.  He  caught  sight  of  his  face  in  a 
mirror,  and  saw  that  he  was  frowning  grimly.  He 
shook  his  head  at  his  reflection,  remembered  his 
philosophy  of  life,  and  forced  his  features  to  wear 
their  habitual,  cheerful  smile.  Rapidly  he  passed 
into  the  antechamber  to  take  farewell  of  Monsieur 
de  Chateaudoux  before  rejoining  the  adventurous 
Princess. 


XIV 

A   WINTRY  TRYST 

WHEN  the  Princess  passed  out  of  the  room 
which  she  had  regarded  for  so  long  as  a  hateful 
prison  she  moved  like  one  in  a  dream  that  is  filled 
with  warring  joys  and  terrors  toward  her  appointed 
tryst.  All  manner  of  unexpected  apprehensions 
thrilled  her  in  her  first  moments  of  liberty.  She 
could  scarcely  believe  that  she  was  really  free.  She 
felt  suddenly  that  she  could  scarcely  hope  now  to 
reach  the  meeting-place  unperceived,  unrecognized, 
and  unchecked,  though  she  had  been  so  certain  of 
success  before  she  began  to  make  the  experiment. 
Yet  if  she  was  swiftly  fearful  she  speedily  began  to 
reassure  herself  when  she  found  that  all  she  had 
planned  came  to  pass  untroubled.  She  descended 
the  empty  stairway;  she  crossed  the  dark  and  silent 
garden;  she  easily  opened  the  seldom-used  door, 
and  a  moment  later  she  found  herself  standing  in 
the  deserted  street,  holding  her  breath,  in  the  shadow 
of  the  deserted  mansion. 

Clementina's  spirits  sang  within  her.  The  enter- 
prise, indeed,  seemed  to  promise  well,  and  her 
elation  of  thought  was  so  great  that  she  was  abso- 

166 


A   WINTRY   TRYST 

lutely  indifferent  to  the  condition  of  the  weather, 
though  that  condition  was  cruel  enough.  A  sullen 
day  had  broken  into  a  stormy  evening.  The  streets 
through  which  the  Princess  had  to  make  her  way 
to  the  place  of  meeting  were  thickly  carpeted  with 
an  ugly  mixture  of  snow  and  mud,  and  a  sleety  rain, 
stirred  by  a  bitter  wind,  was  falling  heavily.  Yet  to 
Clementina,  in  her  high  delight  at  her  unexpected 
franchise,  the  dripping  roads  might  have  been 
strewn  with  roses  and  the  icy  wind  as  temperate  as 
any  Arabian  breeze.  Indeed,  too,  there  was  reason 
to  welcome  the  wildness  of  the  night.  Thanks  to 
the  lateness  of  the  hour  and  the  inclemency  of  the 
elements,  nobody  was  likely  to  be  abroad,  and  thus 
an  additional  chance  of  favor  was  afforded  to  the 
evasion. 

There  was  a  further  advantage  for  the  fugitive 
Princess  in  the  ferocity  of  the  elements.  As  she 
emerged  from  the  lane  that  fringed  the  garden  wall 
into  the  street  in  which  her  residence  stood  she 
glanced  anxiously  toward  the  front  of  the  house, 
where  it  was  the  duty  of  the  sentinel  to  stand.  Al- 
though she  felt  sure  that  the  night  was  too  dark  to 
make  her  visible,  she  was  relieved  to  see  that  the 
house  was  unguarded.  The  sentinel — this  she 
learned  later — wearied  by  the  fury  of  the  storm  to 
which  he  was  exposed  in  all  its  rigors,  as  he  was  not 
accorded  the  shelter  of  a  sentry-box,  had  surrendered 
to  the  temptation  of  an  adjacent  tavern,  and  had 
abandoned  what  he  might  well  regard  as  a  useless 

167 


THE    KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

duty  for  the  more  congenial  pleasures  of  the  wine- 
house.  The  soldier's  absence  seemed  a  good  omen 
to  Clementina,  and  it  was  with  a  more  hopeful 
spirit  that  she  continued  her  grim  journey. 

Clementina  did  not  encounter  a  human  being 
during  the  course  of  her  brief  journey  from  the 
house  to  the  alley  leading  to  the  bridge,  where 
Wogan  had  promised  to  join  her.  She  crept  along 
through  the  darkness  and  the  storm,  sheltering  her- 
self as  much  as  possible  from  the  drenching  showers 
that  nevertheless  made  their  way  through  the  heavy 
horseman's  cloak  that  encompassed  her  and  wetted 
her  to  the  skin.  As  she  approached  the  black 
mouth  of  the  alley  she  paused,  and  again  her  terrors 
began  to  assail  her.  If  any  one  were  to  pass  by  and  to 
discern  her  where  she  skulked  in  the  darkest  shadow 
she  could  find,  he  might  be  pricked  by  curiosity  as 
to  the  reason  for  a  woman's  vigil  at  such  a  place  and 
on  such  a  night.  Curiosity  might  urge  him  to  in- 
vestigation; investigation  might  lead  to  recognition; 
recognition  would  surely  mean  the  ruin  of  her  dream. 
As  she  fought  against  this  fear  and  seemed  to  con- 
quer it,  new  cares  began  to  assail  the  girl.  How  if, 
after  all,  Wogan  were  not  able  to  come;  if,  by  some 
chance,  his  identity  had  been  discovered  after  her 
departure,  or  if  he  found  it  impossible  to  find  an 
excuse  for  evading  the  importunate  hospitality  of 
the  Governor.  Every  possible  and  impossible  rea- 
son for  Wogan's  non-appearance  was  considered  by 
the  Princess's  busy  brain. 

j68 


A   WINTRY   TRYST 

When  speculation  seemed  finally  ended  by  the 
appearance  of  a  man  muffled  in  a  heavy  riding- 
cloak,  who  walked  directly  toward  the  spot  where 
she  was  crouching,  she  was  racked  anew  by  a  sud- 
den fear  that  even  now  this  might  prove  to  be  some 
one  other  than  Wogan,  some  night-walker  curious 
and  presuming,  some  emissary  sent  to  stay  her 
flight.  This  fear  was  speedily  dissipated  by  the 
welcome  sound  of  Wogan's  voice,  and  in  another 
moment,  taking  Wogan's  hand,  she  was  accompany- 
ing him  cautiously  in  the  direction  of  the  bridge, 
which  they  had  to  cross  on  their  pilgrimage  toward 
the  inn.  It  was  a  bitter  pilgrimage.  The  way  was 
worse  than  ever.  The  fury  of  the  storm  had  in- 
creased. Great  pools  of  melted  snow  lay  in  their 
path  indistinguishable  and  not  to  be  avoided. 

As  they  drew  near  to  the  bridge  their  progress  was 
impeded  by  the  volume  of  a  current  of  water  which 
flowed  directly  across  their  path.  Wogan,  casting 
about  for  some  way  to  get  the  Princess  across  the 
stream  dry-shod,  perceived,  as  he  thought,  a  line 
of  white  paving-stones  set  down  in  the  middle  of 
the  watercourse  to  serve  as  a  kind  of  causeway. 
Overjoyed  at  this  discovery,  he  pointed  these  seem- 
ing stones  out  to  the  Princess  as  the  path  she  should 
take.  But  Wogan  was  mistaken  in  his  guess.  The 
seeming  passage  was  only  caused  by  an  accumula- 
tion of  straw  which  had  been  stopped  by  the  snow  as 
it  drifted,  and  the  moment  that  Clementina  made 
to  set  foot  on  it  she  sank  instantly  in  the  water  up 

169 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

to  the  calves  of  her  legs.  Wogan  was  covered  with 
confusion  at  his  blunder,  but  the  Princess  took  it, 
as  she  seemed  to  take  all  the  perils  and  discomforts 
of  the  night's  adventure,  with  a  light  heart,  and  only 
asked  him,  laughingly,  what  he  thought  Monsieur 
de  Chateaudoux  would  say  if  he  could  but  know  of 
her  predicament.  Nevertheless,  she  found  herself 
heartily  envying  Wogan  the  high  horseman's  boots 
which  protected  his  legs  so  effectually  from  the 
water  that  made  havoc  with  her  stockings.  At  last, 
after  what  seemed  an  age-long  journey  through 
night  and  storm,  dripping  but  cheerful,  the  Princess 
found  herself  and  her  companion  standing  before 
the  door  of  a  small  inn  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town. 


r"PHE  inn  that  had  a  black  eagle  for  its  sign 
1  was  an  unpretentious  building  in  the  out- 
skirts of  the  town,  which  was  invariably  ignored  by 
visitors  of  gentility  and  distinction.  Such  person- 
ages made  their  way,  as  the  Prince  of  Niemen  had 
done,  to  the  "  Golden  Crown "  in  the  centre  of 
habitation.  But  the  modesty  of  the  "  Black  Eagle  " 
was  its  chief  merit  in  the  eyes  of  the  little  company 
of  conspirators  that  were  now  for  the  time  being 
sheltered  beneath  its  roof.  They  had  not,  indeed, 
long  enjoyed  such  shelter  before  they  were  pleased 
to  discover  that  the  hostlery  had  other  merits  on 
which  its  sombre  bird  might  very  well  plume  itself. 
The  host  had  a  wife  that  knew  how  to  cook;  the 
host  had  a  cellar  that  guarded  several  flasks  of 
very  fair  wine;  good  food  and  good  drinking  made 
the  "  Black  Eagle  "  a  pleasanter  place  to  enter  than 
to  leave  on  such  a  night  of  warring  elements. 

Yet  the  little  company  that  had  rallied  under  the 
roof  of  the  "  Black  Eagle,"  with  tempers  very  dif- 
ferent from  those  that  would  have  become  most 
travellers  in  their  condition,  were  far  more  eager 
12  171 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

for  departing  than  for  abiding,  and  paradoxically 
welcomed  the  hideous  weather  for  the  uncomfort- 
able but  excellent  cloak  that  it  afforded  to  their  plot. 
They  had  foregathered  exactly  as  had  been  planned. 
Misset  with  his  wife  had  arrived  a  little  the  first, 
but  were  soon  joined  by  Gaydon  and  O'Toole.  The 
Missets  had  travelled  from  Strasbourgh  in  the  coach 
that  Wogan  had  provided  for  them,  the  coach  that 
was  to  be  their  ark  for  the  Princess's  safety  on  their 
expedition  to  Italy.  The  other  two  had  travelled 
a-horseback,  and  stabled  their  nags  in  the  low, 
gaunt  stables  of  the  "  Black  Eagle,"  where  they 
found  two  horses  already  waiting,  which  they 
guessed  to  be  the  steeds  that  had  carried  Wogan 
and  Jane  to  Innspruck. 

Here  is  what  happened  at  Strasbourgh  immediate- 
ly after  the  Prince  of  Niemen  had  gone  forth  to  take 
the  air  of  a  certain  meadow  in  the  company  of  three 
Irish  gentlemen  of  Dillon's  regiment.  Wogan  had 
at  once  made  his  way  to  the  room  reserved  for  the 
use  of  the  ladies,  and  there  he  had  found  Jane,  in 
faithful  obedience  to  the  instructions  given  to  her  a 
little  earlier,  transformed  into  the  seeming  of  a  com- 
plete cavalier.  Her  pretty  body  was  muffled  out  of 
all  loveliness  in  a  man's  habiliments  and  a  man's 
riding-cloak,  and  her  pretty,  impertinent  face  was 
almost  entirely  concealed  by  a  large  hat  and  a  mon- 
strous periwig.  Wogan,  like  a  careful  campaigner, 
had  made  provision  of  all  the  garments  necessary  for 
the  travesty,  and  caused  them  to  be  conveyed  to 

172 


AT   THE    "BLACK   EAGLE" 

the  room  reserved  for  the  ladies  in  a  portmanteau 
long  before  their  arrival,  which  proves  that  he 
counted  very  confidently  upon  Jane's  willingness 
to  agree  to  his  wishes. 

Jane  pretended  to  be  very  much  embarrassed  by 
her  change  of  gear,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  she  was 
rather  diverted  by  this  prelude  to  adventure,  and 
she  took  leave  of  Mistress  Misset  with  more  of  the 
laughter  of  a  knight-errant  than  the  tears  of  a 
transmogrified  damsel,  to  ride  with  Wogan  to  Inn- 
spruck.  Mistress  Misset  waited  with  wifely  pa- 
tience for  her  husband's  return  from  the  field  of 
fight,  whose  encounter  ended  so  ignominiously  for 
O'Toole,  and  then  he  and  she  set  off  in  their  turn 
for  the  theatre  of  their  attempt.  Gaydon  and 
O'Toole  mounted  their  horses  and  rode  off  by  an- 
other route  after  explaining  to  the  landlord  that  the 
English  gentleman  was  lying  indisposed  on  a  couch 
in  a  side  room,  and  that  it  might  be  well  to  look  after 
him  carefully,  a  piece  of  information  which  the  land- 
lord of  the  "  Blue  Moon  "  received  with  a  reverent 
bow  and  an  irreverent  wink. 

At  first  O'Toole  rode  sulky  and  silent,  resisting 
stubbornly  all  Gaydon's  attempts  to  draw  him  into 
conversation,  and  gloomily  brooding  on  his  un- 
expected humiliation  at  the  hands  of  the  Prince  of 
Niemen.  However,  after  a  short  spell  of  hard 
riding — for  they  wished  to  reach  Innspruck  before 
the  Prince  of  Niemen,  who,  as  they  guessed,  would 
be  for  journeying  thither — O'Toole  seemed  to  re-' 

J73 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

cover  his  spirits  a  little  and  began  to  talk  with  some- 
thing of  his  wonted  cheerfulness.  He  had  mended 
so  well  by  the  time  they  came  to  the  Austrian  fron- 
tier, that  when  they  had  crossed  and  were  well  in  the 
dominion  of  Caesar  he  plucked  a  pistol  from  his 
holster  and,  encouraging  Gaydon  to  do  the  like, 
both  discharged  their  weapons  into  the  air  as  a 
signal  that  they  there  and  then  declared  war  upon 
the  Emperor,  who,  as  Gaydon  observed  dryly, 
would  be  seriously  alarmed  if  he  knew  what  re- 
doubtable enemies  were  menacing  him.  So,  in  due 
course,  the  pair  reached  Innspruck  and  the  "  Black 
Eagle,"  and  found  Misset  and  his  wife  and  a  com- 
fortable meal  awaiting  them. 

But  neither  the  sense  of  companionship,  nor  se- 
curity from  the  s|orm,  nor  the  cheer  of  meat  and 
wine  could  keep  anxiety  from  the  hearts  and  faces 
of  the  party.  Each  individual  was  wondering  how 
Wogan  was  faring,  and  what  unforeseen  difficulties 
might  have  occurred,  and,  though  all  tried  not  to 
talk  of  the  subject  of  their  preoccupation,  they 
could  think  of  nothing  else,  and  so  insensibly  came 
to  talk  of  nothing  else.  Time  that  was  wont  for 
most  of  them  to  move  so  briskly  now  crawled  by 
with  leaden  feet.  Faces  haggard  with  care  con- 
sulted the  clock  unceasingly.  "  Would  Wogan  never 
come  ?"  was  the  question  in  each  mind. 

At  last,  when  desperate  impatience  had  almost 
yielded  to  a  despairing  apathy,  Mistress  Misset 
heard  the  sound  of  footsteps  without  and  caught  at 

'74 


AT   THE    "BLACK    EAGLE" 

her  husband's  hand.  In  another  instant  the  door 
of  the  room  opened  and  Wogan  entered  with  a 
woman  by  his  side,  a  woman  enveloped  in  a  heavy 
riding-cloak,  a  woman  drenched  with  rain  and 
tousled  by  the  wind,  a  woman  with  a  face  very 
young  and  very  beautiful  peeping  from  the  dripping 
folds  of  the  riding-hood. 

All  present  rose  to  their  feet,  holding  their  breaths. 
Wogan  spoke.  "Mistress  Misset  and  friends,"  he 
said,  "you  are  honored  by  the  presence  of  the 
Princess  Clementina  Sobieski." 

Instantly  the  three  men  knelt  before  their  royal 
guest,  while  Mistress  Misset  came  forward  from 
the  corner  where  she  had  been  waiting  anxiously 
for  this  moment  and  made  Clementina  a  deep  rev- 
erence, which  the  Princess  instantly  stayed  by 
catching  at  Mistress  Misset's  hands  and  drawing 
her  toward  her,  while  with  a  glance  she  invited  the 
gentlemen  to  rise  as  well. 

Mistress  Misset  was  visibly  concerned  to  find  her 
dear  Princess,  that  was  to  be  her  dear  Queen,  in  so 
bedraggled  a  condition.  She  was  not  surprised, 
indeed,  to  find  Clementina  looking  pale.  The  haz- 
ards of  the  night,  the  strain  of  expectation,  might 
well  banish  color  from  the  girlish  cheeks,  though, 
indeed,  Clementina  carried  herself  with  a  very 
admirable  sprightliness,  and  seemed  now  in  the 
presence  of  these  spectators  to  consider  the 
whole  matter  as  no  more  than  an  amusing  ad- 
venture. But  Mistress  Misset  was  seriously 

*7S 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

alarmed  at  the  sopping  state  of  Clementina's  gar- 
ments. 

On  the  instant,  and  for  the  instant,  she  took  com- 
mand of  the  situation,  seeing  with  womanly  swift- 
ness what  was  needful  to  be  done,  and  carrying 
out  her  purpose  with  womanly  directness.  She  in- 
sisted peremptorily  on  an  immediate  change  of  rain- 
ment.  She  ordered  all  the  gentlemen  to  leave  the 
room,  and  as  soon  as  they  had  done  her  bidding 
she  constituted  herself  the  Princess's  lady-in-waiting, 
nurse,  and  body-servant  all  in  one,  and  proceeded  to 
tend  her  very  expeditiously. 

First  she  took  off  the  Princess's  wet  shoes  and 
stockings,  rubbed  and  dried  her  feet  and  legs  as 
well  as  she  could  with  sheets  snatched  from  the 
bed  in  an  adjoining  room,  for  the  fire  had  gone  out, 
and  Mistress  Misset  did  not  think  it  advisable  at 
that  late  hour  to  call  for  a  fresh  fire  for  fear  of 
giving  suspicion.  Then  she  put  on  the  Princess 
a  clean  pair  of  stockings  and  a  pair  of  shoes  of  her 
own.  All  the  while  that  she  did  this  the  good 
woman  was  encouraging  the  Princess,  who,  indeed, 
seemed  to  need  little  encouragement,  with  all  man- 
ner of  bright  speeches,  hopeful  prognostications, 
and  devoted  compliments  such  as  only  so  sweet  a 
woman  as  Mistress  Misset  could  address  to  so  sweet 
a  Princess. 

Mistress  Misset's  next  care  was  to  extract  from 
the  same  valise  that  had  already  provided  the  shoes 
and  stockings  a  complete  change  of  raiment  for 

176 


AT   THE    "BLACK    EAGLE" 

her  illustrious  charge — shift,  stays,  petticoats,  every- 
thing necessary.  Thereafter,  as  dexterously  as 
deferentially,  she  divested  Clementina  of  her  soaked 
and  sodden  garments,  and  got  her  dainty  body  into 
the  dry  clothes  with  astonishing  swiftness.  "Never," 
says  the  historian  of  the  event,  "has  a  princess  been 
stripped  of  her  garments  and  clad  in  those  of  an- 
other in  so  short  a  time."  During  all  this  shifting 
and  drying  the  Princess  never  ceased  to  smile  and 
to  seem  as  blithe  as  a  school-girl  engaged  upon  some 
school-girl's  escapade,  nor  did  Mistress  Misset  cease 
to  run  on,  graciously  garrulous,  with  her  words  of 
sympathy  and  good  cheer.  In  that  whimsical  epi- 
sode the  pair  of  women  that  had  never  seen  each 
other  before,  and  were  so  widely  removed  in  station, 
the  great  Princess  and  the  poor  soldier's  wife,  made 
friends  instantly,  and  by  the  time  that  Clementina 
stood  up  in  dry  linen  she  felt  as  if  she  had  known 
her  helpful  companion  intimately  for  years. 

While  the  Princess  and  Mistress  Misset  were  thus 
busy  together  Wogan  and  his  brothers-in-arms  ex- 
changed joyous  greetings.  Wogan  could  not  for- 
bear to  rally  O'Toole  a  little  upon  his  unfortunate 
misadventure  with  the  Prince  of  Niemen,  but  he 
soon  saw  that  the  honest  giant  was  so  mortified  by 
the  miscarriage  of  his  valor  that  he  held  his  peace 
and  said  no  more  about  the  matter.  He  dispatched 
Gaydon  to  the  post-house  for  the  necessary  horses 
which  had  been  promised  for  that  night,  and  while 
he  waited  their  arrival  he  told  O'Toole  and  Misset 

177 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

all  that  had  occurred  since  he  parted  from  them. 
When  Gaydon  arrived  with  the  horses  Wogan  went 
to  the  room  in  which  the  Princess  was,  and,  knocking 
at  the  door,  inquired  if  she  were  ready  to  start, 
Clementina  answering  gladly  that  she  was  ready 
and  eager.  Wogan  returned  to  his  companions 
and  aided  them  and  the  sleepy  ostler  to  load  the 
coach  with  their  belongings. 

It  was  by  this  time  quite  late,  being  long  past 
midnight,  and  no  one  was  awake  in  the  inn  save 
themselves,  and  the  said  sleepy  ostler,  and  the  inn- 
keeper's wife,  that  sat  watchful  in  her  room  to  re- 
ceive settlement  of  her  charges.  This  settlement 
Wogan  commissioned  CXToole  to  execute,  and 
while  O'Toole,  in  obedience  to  his  instructions,  was 
chaffering  and  haggling  in  High  Dutch  with  the  good 
woman,  and  entirely  absorbing  her  attention  in 
questions  of  figures  and  coins,  Wogan  took  advan- 
tage of  the  occasion  to  escort  his  charge  and  Mistress 
Misset,  unnoticed,  to  the  coach,  where  it  stood  at 
the  door  of  the  inn. 

The  Princess,  more  comfortable  now  with  her 
body  new-dried  and  new-linened,  and  her  legs  new- 
stockinged  and  new-shod,  climbed  in,  followed  by 
Mistress  Misset.  Wogan,  Gaydon,  and  O'Toole 
mounted  their  own  horses,  Misset  took  the  nag 
that  had  mounted  Mistress  Jane;  the  little  company 
of  cavaliers  stationed  themselves,  two  on  each. side 
of  the  equipage,  and  the  party  started  off  at  a  brisk 
rate,  hoping  to  leave  Innspruck  forever  behind  them. 

178 


AT   THE    "BLACK   EAGLE" 

That  hope  was  swiftly  troubled.  The  company 
had  not  proceeded  very  far  on  their  road,  when  the 
Princess  asked  Wogan  where  her  jewels  were  dis- 
posed. Now  this  was  the  first  time  that  Wogan 
had  heard  of  these  jewels,  or  knew  that  the  Princess 
was  carrying  them,  and  he  questioned  her  some- 
what anxiously  as  to  her  meaning.  Thereupon  the 
Princess  told  him  that  when  she  had  quitted  the 
palace  she  had  placed  all  her  jewels,  which  were 
many  and  valuable,  in  a  silver  casket  in  a  leather 
case,  which  casket  and  case  she  had  under  her  arm 
when  she  was  waiting  for  Wogan,  and  which  casket 
she  had  set  down  in  the  inn-room  on  her  arrival 
when  she  surrendered  herself  to  the  friendly  minis- 
trations of  Mistress  Misset.  The  Princess,  that 
was  used  all  her  life  to  be  waited  on,  and  was  for 
the  first  time  learning  to  shift  for  herself,  had  nat- 
urally enough  taken  it  for  granted  that  some  one 
of  her  company  would  look  after  the  jewel-case, 
never  reflecting  that  none  of  her  company  knew 
of  its  existence. 

Hurriedly  Wogan  called  a  halt  and  the  coach  was 
searched,  Mistress  Misset  and  the  Princess  aiding 
with  eager  fingers,  but  there  was  no  sign  of  the 
missing  casket  of  which  Wogan  had  been  in  igno- 
rance, and  which  Mistress  Misset  truly  protested 
she  had  not  seen.  Here  was,  indeed,  a  calamity 
that  the  Princess  should  thus  lose  at  a  stroke  so 
great  a  part  of  her  fortunes,  and  to  lose  it  in  so  piti- 
ful a  fashion,  for  had  she  left  the  jewels  behind  in 

179 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

the  house  at  Innspruck  they  would  at  least  have 
been  safe,  and  very  likely  returned  to  her  at  some 
later  date,  whereas  now  they  would  serve  no  other 
purpose  than  to  enrich  the  greedy  innkeeper. 

Such  was  the  first  fear  of  the  little  fellowship  of 
fugitives,  but  this  little  fear  was  soon  swallowed  up 
by  a  greater.  If  the  jewel-casket  were  discovered 
the  richness  of  its  contents  would  instantly  apprise 
the  finder  that  it  had  belonged  to  some  one  of 
importance,  some  one  of  importance  that  was  leav- 
ing Innspruck  under  conditions  of  secrecy.  Sus- 
picions thus  aroused  would  speedily  point  to  the 
illustrious  captive;  the  alarm  would  be  given,  the 
Princess's  dwelling  searched,  her  absence  made 
manifest.  Then  would  come  inevitable  pursuit  and 
inevitable  capture,  which  would  mean  to  the  Prin- 
cess a  return  to  a  captivity  more  strict  and  rigorous 
than  before,  and  would  mean  to  her  four  soldiers 
death  upon  the  scaffold.  No  one  of  the  four  ad- 
venturers would  have  grudged  his  life  as  the  price 
of  the  Princess's  freedom,  but  to  lose  it  in  a  failure, 
in  a  foiled  and  baffled  enterprise,  was  indeed  bitter. 

In  the  midst  of  the  confusion,  gloom,  and  pertur- 
bation the  cheery  voice  of  O'Toole  asserted  itself 
in  an  offer  to  ride  back  to  the  inn  and  see  what 
might  be  done  there  in  the  way  of  recovering  the 
missing  casket.  The  proposal  seemed  a  hopeless 
one  enough,  for  it  was  scarcely  likely  that  the  people 
at  the  inn  would  have  failed  to  discover  so  great  a 
treasure,  or,  having  discovered  it,  would  ever  be 

1 80 


AT   THE   "BLACK   EAGLE" 

persuaded  either  to  admit  the  discovery  or  to  yield 
up  the  contents.  However,  poor  though  the  chance 
was,  it  was  at  least  a  chance,  and  in  another  mo- 
ment O'Toole  had  turned  his  horse  and  was  gallop- 
ing as  fast  as  he  could  in  the  direction  of  the  inn 
they  had  so  lately  quitted.  Wogan  could  not  him- 
self have  volunteered  for  this  office.  It  was  his  duty 
to  keep  by  the  side  of  the  Princess  from  the  moment 
that  she  placed  herself  into  his  custody,  and  to  shield 
her  as  long  as  he  could  from  danger. 

The  little  party  passed  a  gloomy  space  of  time 
there  in  the  dark  and  dripping  highway,  where  the 
only  sounds  that  broke  the  stillness  were  the  restless 
pacings  and  frettings  of  the  horses,  that  resented 
standing  in  the  rain,  and  were  impatient  to  pro- 
ceed, and  the  stamping  of  the  driver's  feet  against 
his  board  in  the  effort  to  keep  them  warm.  Minute 
after  minute  passed  by  with  leaden  feet,  Wogan  and 
Mistress  Misset  bitterly  reproaching  themselves 
for  the  blunder,  which,  after  all,  was  no  fault  of 
theirs,  and  the  Princess,  then  as  ever  the  bravest 
of  the  party,  doing  her  best  to  cheer  them  and  dis- 
sipate their  regret.  All  of  a  sudden  Wogan  heard 
the  distant  sound  of  the  galloping  of  a  horse.  It 
drew  nearer,  louder  and  louder,  the  hoofs  splashing 
on  the  drenched  highway,  and  in  another  minute 
O'Toole  drew  rein  beside  the  carriage,  waving  in 
his  hand  a  large,  black  object,  which  he  presented 
to  the  Princess,  and  which  was  no  other  than  the 
missing  casket. 

181 


In  a  moment  the  gloom  was  dissipated  and  joy 
animated  all  hearts.  O'Toole  explained  the  dis- 
covery, wonderfully  little  short  of  miraculous. 

When  he  got  back  to  the  inn  he  found  the  house 
shut  for  the  night  and  all  dark  and  quiet.  The  dark- 
ness and  the  quiet  had  a  reassuring  effect  upon  the 
good  giant,  who  reflected  that  if  the  jewels  had  in- 
deed been  discovered,  and  if  the  discoverer  intended 
to  give  the  alarm,  the  inn  would  probably  show  signs 
of  life  and  light.  It  was  necessary,  however,  for 
O'Toole  somehow  or  other  to  effect  an  entry  into 
the  inn,  and  he  was  wisely  reluctant  to  call  attention 
to  his  return  and  its  reason  by  rousing  the  house 
and  demanding  admittance.  Luckily  for  him,  how- 
ever, the  good  folk  of  Innspruck  slept  in  a  comfort- 
able sense  of  security,  which  left  them  under  no 
great  necessity  to  make  their  doors  fast.  The 
tired  hostess  had  simply  shut  her  front  door  with- 
out either  locking  or  bolting  it.  O'Toole  opening 
it  cautiously  felt  his  way  to  the  room  where  the 
Princess  had  been,  and  groping  about  it  in  the 
darkness  found  the  jewel-case  in  the  corner  exactly 
where  the  Princess  had  said  that  she  placed  it.  It 
was  plain  that  no  one  had  been  at  the  pains  to  visit 
the  room  after  the  departure  of  the  guests,  and  to 
this  strange  and  unexpected  chance  was  owed  the 
safety  of  the  casket. 

O'Toole  made  his  way  out  as  noiselessly  as  he  had 
made  his  way  in — for  a  big  man  he  could  on  occasion 
move  very  deftly  and  quietly — and  rode  off  with  all 

182 


AT   THE    "BLACK   EAGLE" 

speed,  hugging  his  precious  burden,  to  the  spot 
where  his  anxious  companions  were  waiting  for  him. 
The  party  now  resumed  its  interrupted  journey 
with  spirits  comforted  and  hearts  uplifted  by  the 
good  omen  of  the  recovered  jewels. 


XVI 

DISCOVERY 

HPHE  habitual  quiet  of  the  residence  of  General 
1  Heister  at  Innspruck  was  rudely  disturbed  at 
about  noon  of  the  following  day  by  the  arrival  in  a 
travelling  carriage  of  a  very  sick-looking  English 
gentleman,  whose  plump  countenance  was  strangely 
drawn  and  haggard,  whose  naturally  ruddy  com- 
plexion was  sadly  mottled,  and  whose  whole  bear- 
ing showed  signs  of  grave  physical  discomfort 
and  grave  mental  agitation.  This  Englishman  de- 
manded an  interview  with  the  Governor,  announcing 
himself  as  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock,  envoy  from  Great 
Britain.  He  was  assured  by  the  General's  major- 
domo,  and  the  assurance  only  served  to  increase  the 
redness  of  his  rage  and  the  blackness  of  his  dejec- 
tion, that  the  English  envoy  with  the  difficult  name 
had  already  been  received  by  the  Governor,  and 
was  of  his  own  choice  lodging  at  the  "  Black 
Eagle." 

At  this  staggering  information,  which  confirmed 
his  worst  fears,  the  indignant  Sir  Timothy  broke 
into  such  a  storm  of  objurgation  as  staggered  even 
the  habitual  composure  of  an  Austrian  official. 

184 


DISCOVERY 

Sir  Timothy,  out  of  compliment  to  his  royal  mas- 
ter, had  been  at  some  pains  to  acquire  a  smattering 
of  High  Dutch,  a  smattering  indeed  which  repre- 
sented a  knowledge  shared  by  not  half  a  hundred 
of  his  fellow  -  countrymen.  Therefore,  when  Sir 
Timothy,  sick  and  indignant,  standing  at  the  door 
of  General  Heister's  residence  in  Innspruck,  found 
that  the  volume  of  his  fairly  fluent  French,  although 
it  interpreted  fairly  enough  his  own  rage  and  dis- 
tress, had  little  or  no  effect  in  conveying  its  mean- 
ing to  the  mind,  through  the  ears,  of  General 
Heister's  majordomo,  he  turned  the  current  of  his 
wrath  into  the  channel  of  such  tutored  German  as 
he  could  command. 

Thereupon  an  avalanche  of  wild  and  confused 
words  descended  upon  General  Heister's  major- 
domo  and  threated  to  smother  him  in  its  con- 
fused bulk.  From  forth  a  chaos  of  warring  genders 
and  irreconcilable  verbs  and  nouns,  all  muffled  in  a 
bewildering  British  accent,  the  astonished  Austrian 
official  contrived  to  gather  dimly  some  idea  of  an 
alleged  plot  in  which  a  mysterious  stranger,  an  inn 
in  Strasbourgh,  and  flagons  of  horribly  medicated 
vintages  played  their  bewildering  part.  The  less  the 
majordomo  could  make  head  or  tail  of  Sir  Timo- 
thy's narrative  the  more  vociferous  and  voluble  Sir 
Timothy  became,  to  the  more  complete  confusion 
of  both  parties  concerned. 

At  last,  after  enduring  the  volume  of  British  in- 
dignation for  a  great  while,  the  majordomo  decided 

185 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

that  the  Governor  should  be  informed  of  his  visitor 
and  of  his  visitor's  amazing  claim.  General  Heister 
was  surprised  at  the  news,  and  inclined  to  be  sus- 
picious of  the  sanity  of  the  new  arrival;  but  after 
due  reflection  the  Governor  consented  to  receive 
Wynstock,  and  explained  in  reasonably  good  French 
to  that  furiously  indignant  gentleman  that  he  had 
already  received  a  visit  on  the  previous  day  from 
a  duly  accredited  English  envoy,  who  had  chosen, 
as  the  General,  echoing  his  majordomo,  explained, 
to  lie  at  the  "  Black  Eagle."  Wynstock  explained 
afresh,  as  coherently  as  his  choler  would  allow,  the 
plot  of  which  he  had  been  made  a  victim,  and  the 
robbery  of  his  papers,  and  he  insisted  on  being  im- 
mediately presented  to  the  Princess,  to  visit  whom 
he  had  travelled  so  far  and  endured  so  much. 

Now  the  Governor  had  not  seen  the  Princess  that 
morning.  In  reply  to  his  usual  request,  carried  by 
his  orderly,  for  permission  to  wait  upon  her,  the 
orderly  was  informed  by  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux 
that  her  Highness  was  suffering  severely  from  a 
headache,  and  wished  to  keep  her  room.  The  state- 
ment was  not  in  the  least  suspicious,  although  it  was 
the  first  time  such  an  excuse  had  been  made  since 
Clementina  had  become  an  unwilling  resident  of 
the  town.  Now  this  sudden  and  amazing  arrival 
of  a  man  that  told  so  astonishing  a  story  jogged 
the  Governor's  wits  with  whispers  of  alarm.  Beg- 
ging Sir  Timothy  to  be  patient  awhile,  he  again 
sent  his  orderly  with  a  peremptory  message  to  the 

1 86 


DISCOVERY 

Princess  that  he  must  see  her  immediately,  head- 
ache or  no  headache.  He  also  dispatched  another 
messenger  to  the  "  Black  Eagle  "  Inn  to  request  the 
English  gentleman  that  was  lodging  there  to  be  so 
good  as  to  wait  upon  him  with  all  convenient 
speed. 

The  answer  from  the  Princess's  residence  natu- 
rally came  first,  and  again  conveyed  the  assurances 
of  Monsieur  de  Chateaudoux  that  her  Highness  was 
indisposed  and  could  receive  no  one.  In  the  mean 
time  the  assertions  of  the  irate  Sir  Timothy  were 
having  more  and  more  effect  upon  the  Governor's 
mind.  General  Heister  saw  plainly  that  his  latest 
visitor  was  very  angry  indeed,  but  he  also  saw  that 
he  was  perfectly  sane,  and  that  he  told  his  astonish- 
ing story  with  every  show  of  circumstance  and  con- 
viction. Sorely  troubled  and  puzzled,  he  resolved 
to  visit  the  Princess  forthwith,  and  see  her  in  spite 
of  all  remonstrances.  Attended  by  the  still  vocifer- 
ous Wynstock,  whose  clamorous  demands  to  accom- 
pany him  were  not  to  be  gainsaid,  he  walked,  or, 
rather,  ran,  the  little  distance  that  separated  his  resi- 
dence from  the  abode  of  the  Princess.  On  the 
threshold  he  encountered  his  messenger  from  the 
"Black  Eagle"  with  the  tidings  that  all  the  party 
that  had  met  there  on  the  previous  evening  had  taken 
their  departure  late  at  night.  Full  of  unspeakable 
fears,  the  General  dashed  into  the  house,  swept 
Chateaudoux  and  his  protestations  on  one  side,  and 
stormed  into  the  Princess's  apartment,  with  Wyn- 
13  187 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

stock  at  his  heels  and  Chateaudoux  behind  them, 
piteously  wringing  his  hands. 

The  irate  Governor  was  faced  by  a  couple  of 
Clementina's  women  that  seemed  thoroughly  fright- 
ened by  the  Governor's  fury.  They  repeated  in 
chorus,  as  it  were,  what  had  already  been  sent  to  the 
Governor  as  a  message,  that  the  Princess  was  con- 
fined to  her  room  with  a  headache  and  could  see  no 
one.  The  answer  was  not  satisfactory  to  the  in- 
dignant General,  spurred  by  vague,  incoherent, 
and  troubled  suspicions.  Pushing  between  the 
pair,  who  parted  before  him  in  terror,  he  advanced 
rapidly  to  the  door  of  the  Princess's  bedchamber 
and  walked  defiantly  in. 

The  room  was  lapped  in  darkness  and  in  silence, 
but  in  another  moment  the  General  had  parted  the 
curtains,  let  in  a  flood  of  light,  and  turned  to  the 
seeming  sleeping  figure  in  the  bed.  The  sleeper's 
head  was  averted,  but  the  General  addressed  the 
occupant  of  the  bed  sternly. 

"Princess,"  he  said,  "you  must  forgive  this  in- 
trusion on  my  part,  but  it  is  of  the  utmost  necessity 
that  I  must  assure  myself  of  your  presence." 

As  he  spoke  he  saw  the  sleeping  figure  move;  the 
shoulders  shook  with  some  uncontrollable  emotion, 
which  seemed  distinctly  to  resolve  itself  into  an 
explosion  of  a  hysterical  giggle.  Roused  beyond 
patience,  the  Governor  stepped  to  the  bed,  seized 
the  occupant  by  her  shaking  shoulders,  and  turned 
her  face  to  the  light,  staring  in  furious  despair  at 

188 


DISCOVERY 

the  half-laughing,  half-crying  face  of  Jane  Gordon. 
Any  desire  on  Jane's  part  to  laugh  at  the  situation 
in  which  she  found  herself  vanished  swiftly  before 
the  torrent  of  imprecations  and  objurgations  levelled 
at  her  by  the  furious  Governor.  In  reply  to  his 
questions  as  to  where  the  Princess  was,  Jane  could 
only  stammer  out  truthfully  enough  that  she  did 
not  know.  Within  a  few  seconds  the  Governor 
was  face  to  face  with  the  Princess  Sobieski,  and  was 
favored  with  a  perusal  of  the  letter  addressed  to  her 
by  Clementina  on  the  previous  night.  Now  the 
nature  of  the  plot  was  revealed  to  the  Governor.  It 
was  idle  for  him  to  vent  his  rage  on  the  Princess 
Sobieski,  who,  on  the  evidence  of  her  errant  daugh- 
ter's letter,  had  been  or  appeared  to  have  been  as 
much  bamboozled  as  the  Governor  himself.  It 
was  idle  to  vent  his  rage  on  Monsieur  de  Chateau- 
doux,  who  was  no  more  than  a  servant  of  the  missing 
Clementina,  and  scarcely  to  be  blamed  for  obeying 
such  instructions  as  were  conveyed  to  him.  So, 
after  giving  orders  that  the  impostor-girl  was  to  be 
clothed  with  all  speed  and  conducted  to  his  residence, 
he  went  storming  back  to  the  tragically  agitated 
Wynstock,  waiting  anxiously  in  the  antechamber, 
and  told  him  of  the  disaster  that  had  befallen  him. 
Choking  with  rage,  the  pair  hurried  back  to  the 
General's  quarters,  whence  his  Excellency  instantly 
dispatched  a  courier  on  the  route  to  Italy  to  warn 
all  the  officers  in  command  of  garrison  towns  to 
arrest  the  fugitives  if  they  made  their  appearance. 

189 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

He  also  dispatched  a  messenger  to  the  Prince  of 
Niemen  at  the  "  Golden  Crown "  requesting  his 
immediate  company. 

When  the  Prince,  in  obedience  to  the  unexpected 
summons,  hastened  to  General  Heister's  residence, 
and  was  ushered  into  the  Governor's  room,  he  saw 
before  him  two  very  inflamed  and  crestfallen  gentle- 
men. The  Governor  explained  to  the  Prince  what 
had  happened,  hurriedly  presenting  the  real  British 
envoy,  who  in  his  turn  explained  the  trick  that  had 
been  played  upon  him.  If  the  Governor  had  been 
furious,  the  Prince  was  now  the  most  furious  of  the 
three,  but  he  kept  his  feelings  under  better  control 
and  his  wits  were  more  alert. 

In  the  first  place,  what  had  happened  reflected  no 
discredit  on  him.  The  Governor  of  Innspruck  had 
been  deceived,  and  the  deception  might  cost  him  his 
office.  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock  had  been  grotesque- 
ly bubbled,  and  his  reputation  as  a  man  of  affairs 
must  suffer.  His  Serenity  the  Prince  of  Niemen 
stood  to  lose  nothing — except,  indeed,  his  bride  and 
her  British  dowry — and  could  see  nothing  to  blame 
himself  for.  There  was  no  reason  for  him  to  doubt 
the  urbane  and  plausible  gentleman  of  the  "  Blue 
Moon"  in  Strasbourgh,  who  spoke  French  with  a 
slightly  foreign  accent,  and  who  presented  papers 
that  were  perfectly  in  order  and  that  seemed  un- 
questionably to  guarantee  the  personality  of  the 
bearer.  But  if  the  Prince  failed  to  blame  himself 
for  anything  that  had  happened  in  the  past,  he 

190 


DISCOVERY 

lost  no  time  in  endeavoring  to  repair  what  had 
occurred  and  to  make  provision  for  a  better  policy 
in  the  future.  The  Prince  of  Niemen  was  a  gentle- 
man of  swift  decision  where  questions  touching  his 
own  advantage  were  concerned,  and  he  had  made 
up  his  mind  as  to  what  he  meant  to  do  while 
General  Heister  was  wasting  time  in  a  futile  cross- 
examination  of  the  sham  Princess. 

The  now  decidedly  terrified  Jane  Gordon  had 
been  hurriedly  huddled  into  some  clothes  and  con- 
veyed to  the  residence  of  General  Heister.  There 
she  was  brought  into  the  presence  of  the  three  men, 
and  was  instantly  recognized  by  the  Prince  of 
Niemen  as  the  woman  with  whom  he  had  spoken 
on  the  previous  evening  under  the  impression  that 
he  was  conversing  with  the  Princess  Clementina. 
This  served  to  mark  fairly  accurately  the  time  at 
which  the  Princess  had  made  her  escape,  and  to 
prove  the  considerable  start  she  must  have  had  on 
her  journey. 

Whither  that  journey  tended  it  was  fairly  safe  to 
guess.  The  Princess  would  naturally  make  for 
Italy,  where  her  future  husband  was  domiciled. 
The  main  thing  was  to  overtake  her  if  possible  while 
she  was  still  within  the  limits  of  the  Emperor's 
territory.  The  question  as  to  who  the  daring  in- 
dividual might  be  who  had  so  successfully  per- 
sonated the  representative  of  the  Majesty  of  Great 
Britain  seemed  harder  to  settle.  The  girl  Jane 
Gordon  refused  directly  to  give  any  information  as 

191 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

to  his  identity,  though  the  Governor  stormed  and 
raged  and  menaced.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to 
threaten  bodily  punishment  with  rods  and  scourges, 
but  here  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock  interposed,  pro- 
testing with  stiff  Whiggish  dignity  that  he  could  not 
agree  to  such  mediaeval  methods  of  coercing  a 
witness  that  was  plainly  a  lady  of  birth  and  breed- 
ing. After  all,  as  the  Prince  of  Niemen  pertinently 
observed,  it  mattered  very  little  who  the  man  was; 
all  that  really  mattered  was  to  try  to  regain  control 
of  the  fugitive  fair  one. 

So  Jane  was  sent  back  a  prisoner  to  the  dwelling 
of  Princess  Sobieski.  The  Prince  of  Niernen  pro- 
tested his  readiness  to  set  out  at  once  on  the  road 
which  he  believed  to  be  the  likeliest  to  follow  if  the 
Governor  would  agree  to  favor  him  with  an  armed 
escort  sufficiently  strong  to  apprehend  the  fugitives 
if  once  they  were  overtaken.  Sir  Timothy,  albeit 
gravely  shaken  by  the  effects  of  his  ill-timed  pota- 
tions, announced  his  willingness  to  ride  with  the 
Prince. 

The  Governor  consented  to  the  Prince's  request, 
and  diminished  the  strength  of  his  garrison  by  a 
force  of  twenty  horse,  who  were  placed  under  his 
Highness's  commands.  By  General  Heister's  or- 
ders fresh  couriers  were  dispatched  in  all  directions, 
riding  at  their  utmost  speed  to  carry  information  to 
all  whom  it  might  concern  of  the  evasion  of  the 
Princess,  and  summoning  all  liege  subjects  of  the 
Emperor  to  restrain  her  flight  and  detain  her  in 

192 


DISCOVERY 

custody.  But  ere  the  earliest  of  these  could  throw 
a  leg  over  a  saddle  the  Prince  and  Wynstock  were 
riding  at  headlong  speed  the  finest  horses  in  Inn- 
spruck  on  the  road  to  the  Brenner,  followed  at  a 
little  distance  by  twenty  well-armed  horsemen. 


XVII 

FLIGHT 

'"THE  early  hours  of  that  astonishing  evasion 
1  seemed  to  pass,  to  all  the  company — but  most 
of  all  to  Wogan,  that  was  responsible  for  the  whole 
attempt — with  the  shifting  rapidity  of  a  whimsical 
dream.  Wogan  had  promised  his  driver  and  pos- 
tilions such  generous  drink-money  if  they  made 
a  good  pace  that  the  honest  fellows  urged  their 
cattle  to  their  utmost  capacity.  Thus  they  arrived 
at  the  summit  of  the  Brenner  pass,  which  was  the 
first  stage  in  their  journey,  and  no  less  than  five 
mortal  leagues  from  their  point  of  departure,  a  very 
little  while  after  the  sun  had  begun  to  show  himself. 
Here,  while  the  horses  were  being  changed,  the 
Princess,  who  up  to  this  time  had  seemed  in  the 
best  of  spirits  and  of  a  most  admirable  courage,  sud- 
denly cast  her  companions  into  alarm  by  falling 
into  a  swoon.  She  grew  deathly  pale,  seemed  in- 
capable of  breathing,  and  lay  in  her  place  in  the 
carriage  as  motionless  as  if  she  had  ceased  to  live. 
Good  Mistress  Misset,  her  pretty  face  all  bathed 
with  the  plenitude  of  her  tears,  rubbed  the  unhappy 
lady's  hands  in  the  hope  of  rekindling  in  them  the 

194 


FLIGHT 

vital  warmth,  and  the  four  cavaliers  felt  their  own 
eyes  wet  with  unfamiliar  moisture  at  the  piteous 
spectacle. 

Suddenly  and  luckily  Mistress  Misset  recollected 
that  she  had  in  her  pocket  a  little  bottle  of  Water  of 
Carmes,  a  most  excellent  cordial,  with  whose  aid 
she  succeeded  in  restoring  the  fainting  Princess  to 
consciousness.  When  Clementina  looked  about 
her  and  saw  all  those  that  attended  her  with  lugu- 
brious visages  and  tears  in  their  eyes  she  first  sighed 
and  then  smiled,  as  if  she  felt  that  she  must  do  her 
endeavor  to  keep  up  the  cheer  of  her  friends. 

"Ah,  little  woman,"  she  said,  gayly  enough,  to 
Mistress  Misset,  "take  courage."  Then  she  ad- 
dressed the  four  gentlemen  that  undoubtedly  cut 
droll  figures  enough,  like  so  many  Knights  of  the 
Sorrowful  Countenance.  "And  you,  too,"  she  said, 
"my  poor  marmosets,  cheer  up,  for  this  is  nothing." 

The  four  gentlemen,  tickled  in  spite  of  their  trib- 
ulation by  being  addressed  as  marmosets,  could 
not  for  the  life  of  them  help  surrendering  to  a  fit 
of  laughter,  whose  noisy  reverberations  seemed  to 
divert  the  little  Princess  hugely.  Thereafter,  to  the 
end  of  the  journey,  the  Princess  never  failed  to 
speak  of  Mistress  Misset  as  "little  woman,"  and 
of  the  four  soldiers  as  her  "marmosets."  Wogan 
had  the  further  distinction,  in  the  beginning,  of 
being  called  Papa  Wogan,  but  the  use  of  this  pet 
name  ceased  after  a  while,  for  particular  reasons 
hereinafter  to  be  set  forth. 

195 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

The  journey  was  resumed  with  even  greater 
rapidity  than  before.  If  they  had  mounted  to  the 
summit  of  the  Brenner  like  a  rocket,  to  cite  the  vivid 
phrase  of  O'Toole,  they  descended  it  like  a  flash  of 
lightning.  They  stopped  nowhere  save  for  the 
inevitable  necessity  of  changing  horses.  They 
made  no  meals  in  any  of  the  inns  on  the  road,  but 
subsisted  as  well  as  they  could  on  the  provisions 
with  which  they  had  victualled  the  coach  before 
leaving  Innspruck.  These  consisted  chiefly  of  cer- 
tain cold  capons,  which  proved  to  be  very  old,  and 
made  monstrous  tough  eating,  but  which  still  were 
better  than  nothing  to  seasoned  campaigners  like 
Wogan  and  his  three  comrades  of  Dillon's. 

As  for  the  little  Princess,  she  took  all  the  discom- 
forts of  the  road  as  bravely  and  as  gayly  as  if  she 
had  followed  the  wars  herself  for  years,  and  nibbled 
at  the  arid  granite  of  the  capon  flesh  as  if  it  had 
been  a  most  exquisite  delicacy.  The  gentlemen 
took  it  turn  and  turn  about  to  sit  with  her  Highness 
in  the  coach  and  share  the  repasts  with  her.  Those 
that  were  not,  as  it  were,  admitted  to  the  presence 
rode  by  the  side  of  the  carnage,  leading  their  com- 
panions' mounts,  and  making  shift  to  eat  their 
meals  as  well  as  they  could  in  the  saddle. 

With  their  descent  from  the  summit  of  the  Bren- 
ner came  a  comfortable  change  in  their  condition. 
The  intemperance  of  the  snow  and  the  snapping 
cold  that  they  had  suffered  from  since  their  depart- 
ure from  Innspruck  ceased  to  exist,  and  as  they 

196 


FLIGHT 

continued  their  journey  toward  Italy  they  did  so 
with  a  changed  air  and  a  changed  climate.  They 
moved  through  a  charming  spring,  they  were 
warmed  -by  a  bright  sun,  they  breathed  a  sweet 
and  temperate  air. 

They  had  their  little  adventures  on  the  road, 
adventures  that  appeared  quite  thrilling  and  sig- 
nificant in  the  early  stages  of  their  escapade,  until 
they  were  dwarfed  out  of  all  reckoning  by  the  mag- 
nitude of  a  later  peril.  Yet  those  early  risks  and 
misadventures  were  great  enough  to  have  seemed 
truly  terrible  to  any  fellowship  of  travellers.  How 
much  the  more  therefore  might  they  not  have  ap- 
peared portentous  in  the  eyes  of  these  four  honest 
gentlemen  that  were  doing  their  best  to  convey  in 
safety  a  young  and  beautiful  princess  to  one  that 
was  to  be  her  husband,  and  that  one  a  prince  whom 
they  loved  and  honored  with  all  their  hearts  and 
souls  as  the  rightful  King  of  England  wrongfully 
dispossessed  and  driven  into  exile  by  a  damnable 
alliance  of  knaves,  fools,  and  traitors. 

There  was,  for  instance,  the  alarming  episode  on 
the  miserable  mountain  road  which  crowned  a 
precipice  a  hundred  feet  high  above  the  river  Adige. 
As  the  carriage  containing  the  Princess  and  her 
companions  was  proceeding  at  full  speed  along  the 
narrow  place,  which  was  wholly  undefended  on  the 
side  of  the  precipice,  there  came  slowly  lumbering 
into  view,  travelling  in  the  opposite  direction,  a 
heavy  country-side  wagon.  Those  that  were  con- 

197 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

ductors  of  this  same  wagon,  seeing  from  afar  the 
coach  and  horses  tearing  along  the  narrow  way 
where  there  was  scarcely  a  possible  means  of  pas- 
sage for  two  vehicles,  instantly  secured  for  their 
wagon  the  side  of  the  road  nearest  to  the  mountain, 
leaving  to  the  coach  the  side  which  gave  on  to  the 
precipice  and  the  Adige  foaming  below.  The  driver 
and  the  postilion  of  the  coach  which  carried  Clem- 
entina and  her  fortunes,  whether  they  were  merely 
drunk  or  merely  careless,  continued  their  course 
with  unchanged  velocity,  as  recklessly  as  if  they 
were  driving  on  the  widest  highway  of  some  well- 
ordered  town,  without  taking  the  slightest  notice 
of  the  wagon  that  encumbered  the  narrow  path. 

O'Toole,  that  was  riding  behind  with  Gaydon, 
at  a  little  distance  off  saw  the  danger,  and,  putting 
spurs  to  his  horse,  galloped  after  the  coach  that 
seemed  careering  to  its  doom.  Thoroughly  regard- 
less of  his  own  life,  and  firmly  resolved,  as  he  after- 
ward admitted  to  Wogan,  to  leap  into  the  abyss 
after  the  coach,  if  indeed  it  rode  to  its  ruin,  he 
managed  somehow  to  guide  his  horse  along  the 
crumbling  edge  of  the  ravine  just  at  the  moment 
when  the  Princess's  carriage,  whirling  past  the 
plodding  and  blocking  wagon,  seemed  on  the 
very  point  of  toppling  from  the  road  into  the  chasm. 
With  the  desperation  of  despair  O'Toole  lashed  out 
with  his  whip  at  the  staggering  horses;  his  blows 
and  oaths  seemed  to  have  the  effect  of  forcing  them 
to  an  increased  speed,  which  just  managed  to  pre- 

198 


serve  the  equilibrium  of  the  coach  until  it  had 
been  carried  past  the  cart  and  was  in  undisputed 
possession  of  such  highway  as  there  was  once  more. 

O'Toole  was  scarcely  to  be  blamed  if,  once  the 
moment  of  danger  was  past,  his  fury  of  fear  turned 
into  a  fury  of  rage  which  spent  itself  upon  the  loutish 
and  stockish  driver  and  postilion,  whom  he  treated 
to  such  a  volley  of  blows  from  his  whip,  and  to  such 
a  volley  of  oaths  from  his  tongue,  that  his  strokes 
and  objurgations,  while  they  had  the  desired  effect 
of  bringing  the  driver  and  postilion  to  a  proper 
sense  of  their  own  unworthiness,  were  also  the 
means  of  attracting  the  attention  of  the  persons 
that  were  seated  in  the  coach. 

Now  the  occupants  of  the  carriage  had  no  notion 
whatever  of  the  peril  which  they  had  just  passed 
through,  but  they  could  hear  very  plainly  the  crack- 
ing of  O'Toole's  whip  as  it  reverberated  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  offending  boors,  and  the  volume  of 
O'Toole's  oathing  as  it  thundered  about  their  ears, 
and  the  noise  was  so  unexpected  and  so  astonishing 
that  it  provoked  Wogan  to  thrust  his  head  out  of 
the  carriage  window  and  bawl  to  O'Toole  to  know 
what  he  would  be  at,  asking  him  sharply  if  he  knew 
the  respect  that  was  due  to  the  lady  whom  they 
escorted.  To  which  poor  O'Toole  answered  in  a 
broken  voice,  bubbling  with  contrition,  and 
promising  explanation  later. 

At  the  next  place  for  changing  horses  O'Toole, 
haggard  with  his  emotions,  came  to  Wogan  and  told 

199 


THE    KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

him  what  had  happened.  Wogan,  who  had  never 
before  seen  the  good  giant  so  distressed,  and  who 
was  touched  to  the  heart  by  the  simplicity  of  his 
tale  and  the  working  of  his  countenance,  naturally 
accorded  him,  on  behalf  of  the  Princess,  a  complete 
forgiveness,  and  clasped  his  hand  with  all  the  ardor 
of  a  comradeship  which  had  just  received  a  new 
impulse  of  strength.  O'Toole  assured  Wogan  that 
if  his  rage  had  not  been  tempered  to  suavity  by  his 
sense  of  respect  for  the  presence  of  the  Princess 
he  would  never  have  limited  himself  to  lashing  and 
cursing  the  peccant  rascals,  but  would  have  very 
frankly  blown  their  brains  out. 

There  were  perils  other  than  accidents  that  the 
refugees  had  to  fear.  Although  Wogan  was  under 
the  belief  that  his  little  party  had  made  too  early  a 
start  and  journeyed  too  rapidly  thereafter  to  be  in 
fear  of  any  pursuit  in  force,  he  very  seriously  appre- 
hended and  dreaded  the  appearance  of  some  courier 
dispatched  from  Innspruck  to  the  Governor  of 
Trent  or  the  Governor  of  Roveredo,  two  imperial 
towns  through  which  they  were  obliged  to  pass, 
carrying  orders  to  arrest  the  Princess  and  her  little 
company.  He  had  no  means  of  guessing  by  what 
time  the  alarm  might  have  been  given  at  Innspruck, 
but  he  could  not  help  recognizing  that  some  un- 
foreseen accident  might  easily  precipitate  discovery, 
and  that  a  promptly  dispatched  messenger,  travelling 
at  top  speed,  might  in  such  a  case  be  very  presently 
upon  their  heels. 

200 


FLIGHT 

To  guard  against  this  danger,  the  greatest,  as  he 
then  imagined,  which  they  had  now  to  fear,  he  gave 
orders  that  Misset  and  O'Toole  should  keep  a  post's 
distance  behind  the  rest  of  the  party  and  keep  a 
sharp  lookout  for  a  possible  courier.  If  they  en- 
countered him  their  instructions  were  by  hook  or  by 
crook  to  get  his  papers  from  him,  and  to  keep  him 
from  continuing  his  journey  by  killing  his  horse 
and  leaving  the  man  securely  tied  in  a  ditch  by  the 
highway,  they  being  provided  with  cords  for  this 
very  purpose.  They  were  not,  however,  so  Wogan 
very  strictly  enjoined,  to  kill  the  man  or  even  to  do 
him  serious  injury,  if  they  could  possibly  avoid  such 
extreme  measures.  Of  course,  however,  in  the  last 
resort  consideration  for  the  safety  of  the  Princess 
was  to  overrule  all  scruples. 

Thus  instructed,  O'Toole  and  Misset  fell  behind, 
and  consoled  themselves  for  their  separation  from 
their  main  body  by  offering  themselves  such  good 
cheer  as  the  inns  or  posting-houses  that  they  found 
on  their  road  could  afford.  It  was  at  one  of  these 
in  a  little  village  called  Wellishmile  that  fortune 
favored  them  by  delivering  him  they  sought  into 
their  hands.  The  pair  were  seated  at  table  in  the 
single  room  of  the  inn,  at  two  o'clock  of  a  raw  morn- 
ing, making  ready  to  enjoy  the  hot  supper  they 
had  ordered,  when  they  heard  a  noise  outside  and 
presently  afterward  there  lurched  into  the  room  a 
man  all  bespattered  with  mud,  that  cursed  and 
swore  horribly,  a  man  whom  they  guessed  at  once 

201 


THE    KING   OVER    THE    WATER 

to  be  the  courier  from  Innspruck,  whom  it  was  their 
business  to  intercept.  The  fellow  was  vomiting 
imprecations  upon  the  condition  of  the  road  and 
the  condition  of  the  post-horses;  and,  indeed,  he 
was  scarcely  to  be  blamed  for  his  rage,  considering 
the  state  of  the  highway  and  the  exhausted  case  of 
the  poor  relays  of  horses  that  had  been  compelled  to 
do  double  duty  already,  thanks  to  the  passage  of  so 
many  travellers. 

As  soon  as  Misset  and  O'Toole  had  marked  their 
man  they  set  to  work,  as  O'Toole  afterward  ex- 
pressed it,  to  circumnavigate  him.  Indeed,  the  task 
presented  no  great  difficulty.  The  poor  devil  was 
tired  out;  he  had  been  thrown  from  his  saddle  per- 
haps half  a  dozen  times  by  the  flounderings  of  his 
jaded  mounts;  he  was  sore  all  over  from  his  bruises; 
and  to  crown  all  he  was  simply  dying  of  thirst.  To 
such  a  man  in  such  a  condition  it  was  easy  enough 
for  Misset  and  O'Toole  to  prove  themselves  the 
friends  in  need,  and  in  a  few  minutes  all  three  were 
seated  round  the  same  table  sharing  the  repast 
which  the  two  soldiers  had  been  prompt  to  offer  to 
share  with  the  new-comer. 

Now  Misset,  that  remembered  with  admiration 
and  approval  the  trick  which  Wogan  had  played 
upon  that  solemn  Briton,  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock, 
had  provided  himself  for  the  occasion  with  a  pocket- 
flask  that  was  filled  to  the  stopper  with  a  double 
Strasbourgh  brandy  that  was  no  gentler  than  raw 
spirit.  While  the  jaded  courier  was  bewailing  his 

202 


FLIGHT 

case  to  O'Toole,  Misset  took  the  opportunity  to 
empty  his  flask  into  an  earthenware  jug  that  stood 
upon  the  sideboard,  which  jug  he,  pretending  that 
it  carried  no  other  than  common  potable  water, 
conveyed  to  the  supper-table. 

Now,  when  the  courier  in  his  thirst  was  for  filling 
himself  out  a  glass  of  the  wine  that  the  inn  provided, 
Misset  laid  his  hand  upon  the  flagon  and  stayed 
him,  protesting  that  the  liquor  was  too  heady  for 
a  tired  man  to  drink  neat.  As  he  spoke  he  filled 
out  half  a  glass  of  the  wine  and  straightway  tem- 
pered it  by  filling  to  the  brim  with  the  fiery  con- 
tents of  the  jug.  The  courier,  who  guessed  nothing 
of  the  manoeuvre,  lifted  the  mixture  to  his  lips 
avidly  and  emptied  the  glass  at  a  single  draught. 
The  fierce  blend  made  him  cough  and  gasp,  and 
as  he  sat  down  his  glass,  with  the  tears  streaming 
from  his  eyes,  and  spluttered  out  staggering  assever- 
ances  that  the  liquor  was  indeed  strong,  he  was  al- 
ready well-nigh  as  drunk  as  an  owl. 

However,  in  gratitude  to  his  hosts,  he  endeavored 
to  eat  of  the  victuals  they  offered  him,  and  because 
of  his  condition  he  readily  accepted  the  relays  of 
fluid  with  which  they  plied  him,  for  the  poor  devil's 
thirst  only  increased  with  each  seasoned  draught. 
As  he  quaffed,  his  wisdom  weakened  and  his  tongue 
loosened,  and  in  reply  to  a  casual  question  of 
O'Toole's  as  to  the  latest  news  from  Innspruck,  he 
told  them  that  the  Princess  Clementina  had  been 
carried  off  by  a  band  of  brigands,  and  that  he  was 
14  203 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

riding  posthaste  to  the  Governor  of  Trent  with 
a  message  from  General  Heister  ordering  him  to 
arrest  the  bandits  and  have  them  all  flayed  alive. 

As  he  came  to  this  point  in  his  confused  narrative 
the  angry  messenger  plucked  his  packet  from  his 
pocket  and  flung  it  furiously  upon  the  table.  Even 
as  he  did  so  the  potency  of  the  devil's  elixir  so 
dexterously  brewed  for  him  by  Misset  quite  over- 
came his  senses,  and  his  fuddled  head  dropped  like 
a  log  of  wood  upon  the  table  and  lay  there  helpless. 
His  obliging  hosts  immediately  pounced  upon  the 
packet,  and  without  a  moment's  delay  thrust  it  into 
the  hottest  heart  of  the  fire  that  was  burning  upon 
the  hearth.  When  the  last  ashes  were  consumed, 
O'Toole  and  Misset,  between  them,  conveyed  the 
helpless  messenger  to  his  bed,  where  they  placed  him 
and  left  him  so  happily  steeped  in  wine  and  strong 
waters  that,  as  it  proved,  he  could  neither  stir  nor 
speak  for  four-and-twenty  hours  afterward. 

This  was  the  ingenious  trick  by  means  of  which 
the  Chevalier  Charles  Wogan,  with  the  aid  of  his 
faithful  friends,  contrived  to  baffle  the  fury  of  Gen- 
eral Heister.  This  was  the  ingenious  trick  which 
Mr.  Davenant,  the  representative  of  the  Elector  of 
Hanover  to  the  States  of  Italy,  warped  into  an  ac- 
cusation against  the  Chevalier  of  murdering  five 
or  six  couriers  on  the  highroad  between  Innspruck 
and  Trent.  This  Davenant  presented  a  memorial  to 
the  Senate  of  the  Republic  of  Genoa,  where  the 
Chevalier  then  happened  to  be,  waiting  for  a  wind 

204 


FLIGHT 

to  carry  him  to  Spain,  but  the  Genoese  Senate 
treated  the  ridiculous  accusation  and  preposterous 
demand  with  the  contempt  which  both  they  and 
their  utterer  deserved. 

Such  were  the  most  eminent  of  the  various  ad- 
ventures that  befell  the  fugitives  on  their  way 
through  the  dominions  of  the  Emperor.  Others, 
annoying  and  embarrassing,  had  to  be  endured,  but 
seem  too  trivial  for  formal  enumeration.  When 
O'Toole  and  Misset,  joining  their  party  beyond 
Trent,  informed  Wogan  of  the  successful  result  of 
their  interview  with  the  courier  from  Innspruck, 
Wogan  rubbed  his  hands  and  congratulated  him- 
self that  the  worst  of  the  ticklish  business  was  over 
and  done  with.  Which  only  shows  how  the  wisest 
and  the  wariest  of  campaigners  may  be  misled. 


XVIII 
WOGAN'S  DIPLOMACY 

TT  was  not  very  long  before  the  Princess,  beginning 
1  to  grow  accustomed  to  the  fact  of  her  escape, 
seemed  to  find  that  the  circumstances  round  her, 
strange  and  unexpected  as  they  were,  were  not 
sufficiently  enthralling  to  command  all  her  atten- 
tion. She,  therefore,  entreated  the  Chevalier,  whom, 
as  leader  of  the  expedition,  she  was  pleased  to  re- 
gard as  her  prime  minister,  to  find  some  means  of 
diverting  her  leisure.  Then,  before  she  allowed  him 
time  to  make  any  suggestion,  she  ordered  him  to 
tell  her  the  whole  history  of  the  enterprise  which 
had  so  far  resulted  in  gaining  her  her  freedom.  With 
this  request  Wogan  complied  willingly  enough,  as 
although  the  enterprise  had  been  schemed  and  car- 
ried out  by  him  he  was  able  to  narrate  its  evolutions 
without  making  himself  seem  too  important  in  the 
matter. 

He  told  her  how  his  earliest  and  one  of  his  great- 
est difficulties  had  been  to  persuade  her  father, 
Prince  James  Sobieski,  to  give  his  consent  to 
Wogan's  scheme  of  evasion.  That  consent  Wogan 
knew  to  be  essential,  for  without  it  he  could  not 

206 


WOGAN'S    DIPLOMACY 

hope  to  persuade  the  Princess  to  make  the  attempt, 
or,  even  if  he  did  so  persuade  her,  to  justify  the 
attempt  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

Here  the  Princess  interrupted  him  to  assure  him 
that  she  would  have  gone  to  her  dear  Sovereign 
Lord  King  James  quite  regardless  of  the  fact  that 
her  father  had  withheld  his  permission. 

Wogan  laughed  and  shook  his  head  and  went  on 
with  his  story.  He  told  her  how  he  had  argued 
with  the  Prince  all  through  a  long  afternoon  and 
evening  without  producing  apparently  the  slightest 
effect  upon  the  Prince's  stubborn  resolve.  To  be- 
gin with,  the  Prince  declared  that  he  was  not  willing 
to  make  himself  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the  world 
by  giving  his  consent  to  a  project  which  did  not 
appear  to  have  the  faintest  chance  of  success.  But 
even  if  the  project  did  prove  to  be  successful,  and 
did  give  the  Princess  her  liberty,  he  did  not  at  all 
relish  the  prospect  of  seeing  his  daughter  go  gypsying 
across  Europe  after  a  landless  prince  that  was  power- 
less to  avenge  the  insults  that  had  been  heaped  on 
him  and  his  bride-elect  by  the  Emperor.  In  a 
word,  though  he  assured  Wogan  that  if  he  were 
to  entertain  the  crazy  scheme  at  all  he  would  cheer- 
fully confide  Clementina  to  his  care,  he  concluded 
that  this  was  not  a  time  for  such  Don-Quixotisms. 
Thus,  when  the  pair  parted  at  night,  though  they 
parted  upon  good  terms,  for  the  Prince  had  always 
shown  the  greatest  liking  for  and  kindness  to  Wogan, 
Wogan's  attempt  seemed  as  hopeless  as  ever. 

207 


THE   KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

As  Wogan  paused  in  his  story  to  give  dramatic 
effect  to  the  difficulty  in  which  he  found  himself, 
the  Princess  eagerly  encouraged  him  to  proceed, 
declaring  that  she  was  burning  to  know  how  he  had 
overcome  her  father's  obstinacy. 

Wogan  went  on  to  say  that  on  the  following  morn- 
ing, which  happened  to  be  the  first  day  of  the  year 
1719,  his  Highness  the  Prince  was  good  enough 
to  send  him,  Wogan,  by  the  hands  of  his  treasurer, 
as  a  New- Year's  gift,  a  remarkably  handsome  snuff- 
box, with  a  request  that  he  would  accept  it  as  a 
token  of  the  Prince's  good-will. 

This  snuff-box  was  made  of  a  single  turquoise  set 
in  gold,  and  had  been  found  by  King  John,  Prince 
James  Sobieski's  father,  in  the  tent  of  the  Grand 
Vizier  on  the  day  of  the  famous  battle  of  Vienna. 
It  was  unique  in  its  kind  and  of  incalculable  value, 
so  that  the  most  experienced  jewellers  of  Augsburg 
could  not  guess  at  its  proper  price.  Wogan  imme- 
diately, and  with  much  dignity,  though  with  the 
utmost  respect,  begged  to  be  allowed  to  return  the 
proffered  gift,  as  he  did  not,  he  considered,  think 
it  right  that  he  who  was  acting  on  his  royal  master's 
business  should  consent  to  receive  so  costly  a  gift 
from  his  Highness  at  a  time  when  he,  Wogan,  had 
so  completely  failed  to  carry  out  his  master's  wishes 
to  gain  the  Prince's  consent  to  what  must  needs 
prove  his  master's  happiness.  In  vain  did  the 
Prince's  treasurer  press  Wogan  to  accept  his  master's 
gift.  Wogan  was  politely  obdurate,  and  the  treas- 

208 


WOGAN'S   DIPLOMACY 

urer  had  to  return  to  his  master  with  the  Grand 
Vizier's  snuff-box  and  the  news  of  Wogan's  refusal. 

Many  princes  might  have  been  offended  by  this 
show  of  independence,  but  it  happened  that  Wogan 
had  calculated  not  unhappily  upon  the  nature  of 
the  Prince  with  whom  he  was  dealing.  Sobieski 
was  favorably  impressed  by  Wogan's  action,  so 
favorably  impressed  that  he  immediately  invited 
him  to  dinner — the  pair  being  alone  together. 
After  the  dinner  he  not  only  insisted  upon  Wogan 
keeping  the  pretty  toy,  but  avowed  that  he  had 
completely  changed  his  attitude  toward  the  whole 
matter  they  had  been  discussing.  He  was  so  de- 
lighted by  Wogan's  action  that  he  consented  to 
sanction  the  enterprise  that  Wogan  had  planned. 

The  Princess  congratulated  her  companion  upon 
having  so  happily  got  over  what  seemed  to  be  so 
great  an  obstacle.  Wogan  thereupon  assured  her 
that  this  was  only  the  beginning  of  troubles,  the 
first  shoot,  as  it  were,  of  a  whole  crop  of  difficulties. 

The  next  and  perhaps  the  greatest  of  the  dangers 
that  threatened  the  expedition  in  the  beginning  was 
again  due  to  the  action  of  Prince  James  Sobieski. 
Wogan  was  anxious  to  obtain  certain  passports 
from  the  court  of  Vienna  for  Milan,  or  some  other 
Italian  town,  which  would  greatly  facilitate  his 
undertaking.  He,  therefore,  questioned  the  Prince 
as  to  whether  it  were  at  all  possible  that  such  pass- 
ports could  be  obtained.  The  Prince  promised  to 
find  out  what  Wogan  wished,  but  to  Wogan's  dis- 

209 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

may  he  proceeded  to  find  out  in  the  most  straight- 
forward, not  to  say  infantile,  fashion.  There  was  a 
Viennese  gentleman  at  the  Prince's  court,  a  certain 
Baron  d'Echersberg,  one  that,  having  failed  to  make 
his  way  in  the  greater  world  of  Austria,  was  now 
seeking  for  success  in  a  more  limited  sphere  of 
action.  The  Prince  had  a  considerable  regard  for 
this  gentleman,  enjoyed  much  of  his  company,  and 
showed  him  no  little  favor.  To  Wogan's  dismay 
the  Prince  Sobieski  immediately  summoned  this 
gentleman  to  his  presence  from  the  adjoining  ante- 
chamber, where  he  happened  to  be,  and  asked  him 
point  blank  if  such  passports  as  Wogan  wished  for 
could  be  easily  obtained,  or  juggled  out  of  the  court 
of  Vienna,  as  they  would  greatly  aid  his  plans  for 
the  evasion  of  his  daughter  Clementina  from  Inn- 
spruck. 

All  this  the  honest  Prince  explained  to  his  dear 
Baron  with  as  cheerful  a  heedlessness  as  if  he  were 
informing  him  that  his  daughter  had  a  mind  to 
acquire  a  new  kind  of  lapdog,  or  meditated  some 
important  change  in  the  dressing  of  her  hair.  Here 
was  a  scheme  whose  only  chance  of  success  de- 
pended upon  its  being  kept  secret  to  the  fewest 
number  of  persons  possible  being  aired  by  the 
good,  inconsequential  Prince  as  carelessly  as  if  it 
were  of  no  more  importance  than  a  piece  of  linen 
flung  upon  a  line  to  dry  on  a  windy  day,  with  all 
the  passing  world  to  take  note  of. 

It  seemed  to  Wogan  as  if  the  bright  sunlight  and 

2IO 


WOGAN'S   DIPLOMACY 

the  bright  room  had  suddenly  changed  to  darkness 
and  ruin  by  some  earth-shaking  calamity,  so  com- 
pletely did  he  feel  that  the  folly  of  the  Prince  had 
totally  destroyed  all  the  elaborate  schemes  he  had 
been  at  such  pains  to  construct.  The  Viennese 
gentleman  would  naturally  be  made  suspicious, 
would  naturally  communicate  his  suspicions  to  the 
imperial  court.  The  intentions  of  the  conspirators 
would  be  guessed  at,  if  not  actually  discovered,  and 
the  enterprise  practically  rendered  hopeless. 

The  Austrian  gentleman,  however,  acted  as  if  he 
were  not  at  all  surprised  by  this  show  of  confidence. 
He  answered  the  Prince  frankly  enough  that  such 
passports  were  very  difficult  indeed  to  obtain,  and 
that  the  court  of  Vienna,  always  suspicious  of  such 
requests  in  time  of  peace,  would  certainly  take 
alarm  if  they  came  from  any  person  supposed  to  be 
friendly  to  the  interests  of  his  Highness.  The 
Baron  thereupon  argued  that  it  would  be  unwise 
for  him  personally  to  make  the  attempt,  as  he  was 
known  to  be  devoted  to  Prince  Sobieski,  and  in- 
dignant at  the  affront  which  had  been  offered  him. 
He  further  urged  that  the  less  sureties  they  sought 
the  less  suspicions  they  would  arouse,  and  he  sug- 
gested that  a  simple  billet  de  sante,  which  was  readily 
allowed  to  all  who  asked  for  it,  would  meet  the 
needs  of  the  case. 

His  manner  to  the  Prince  was  quite  friendly  and 
sympathetic,  but  Wogan  was  diplomatist  enough 
to  know  how  little  this  might  mean,  and  in  his  heart 

211 


THE   KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

he  cursed  the  Prince  for  his  folly,  though  he  did  not, 
of  course,  permit  any  expression  of  his  indignation 
or  his  despair  to  show  itself  on  his  countenance. 
He  immediately  realized  that  the  Baron  must  be 
dealt  with  instantly  and  won  over  to  his  party,  or 
that  the  cherished  plan  of  evasion  must  be  aban- 
doned. 

Luckily,  however,  for  Wogan,  it  was  ever  part 
and  parcel  of  his  happy-go-lucky,  practical  philos- 
ophy of  existence  that  whenever  any  affair  seemed 
to  be  at  its  very  worst,  it  was  very  probably  well  on 
its  way  to  being  bettered.  The  Prince  James 
Sobieski  had  chosen  to  be  loose  -  tongued,  foolish 
beyond  praise;  nothing  in  the  world  could  alter  that 
fact  or  make  his  Highness's  spoken  words  unsaid 
or  unheard.  The  Prince  had  blundered  beyond 
repairing;  he  had  confided  the  priceless  secret  to  a 
new  confidant.  The  one  and  only  thing  to  be  done 
in  this  ugly  emergency  was  to  make  that  same  con- 
fidant powerless  to  do  all  or  any  of  the  harm  of 
which  he  had  been  so  foolishly  rendered  capable. 

Wogan  was  quick  to  gauge  the  character  of  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  he  believed  that 
he  had  reckoned  up  his  friend  the  Baron  pretty 
accurately.  He  saw  in  him  an  ambitious  man  that 
had  not  the  talents  to  satisfy  his  ambitions,  a  man 
that  had  drifted  from  a  great  court  to  a  petty  court, 
and  that  was  still  consumed  with  a  sense  of  his  own 
importance.  It  was  Wogan's  belief  that  such  a  one 
should  be  laid  siege  to  briskly,  and  he  set  to  work  at 

212 


WOGAN'S    DIPLOMACY 

once.  He  began  his  task  with  an  Irish  soldier's 
confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  good  wine.  He  invited 
the  Baron  to  a  supper  in  his  apartments,  where  he 
regaled  him  with  some  specially  excellent  old  Tokay 
that  had  been  a  present  to  Wogan  from  the  Prince, 
and  that  had  not  its  better  in  any  princely  cellar  in 
Europe. 

The  Baron  drank  generously  of  the  generous 
vintage.  The  good  wine  warmed  his  heart  and 
thawed  his  reserve.  Wogan  plied  him  briskly,  fill- 
ing and  filling  again  with  great  rapidity  and  talking 
all  the  while  very  volubly  and  earnestly  about  the 
affairs  of  Europe  in  general,  and  the  affairs  of  his 
master,  King  James  the  Third,  in  particular.  He 
professed  to  speak  with  perfect  candor  to  the  Baron, 
assuring  him  that  he  trusted  him  implicitly,  and  had 
therefore  no  fear  of  laying  bare  the  inmost  secrets 
of  the  Stuart  diplomacy. 

The  Baron,  vastly  flattered  by  all  these  con- 
fidences, grew  gayer  and  gayer,  more  amiable  and 
yet  more  amiable,  and  assured  his  host  that  he 
might  rely  entirely  upon  his,  the  Baron's,  discretion. 
Then  Wogan  played  his  chief  card  dramatically. 
Lowering  his  voice  he  confided  to  the  Baron  that 
one  of  the  missions  on  which  he  was  intrusted  by 
his  master  was  to  find  a  gentleman  of  reputation 
and  discretion,  a  German  by  choice  for  the  better 
diversion  of  suspicion,  who  might  serve  to  represent 
King  James's  interests  at  the  court  of  Sweden. 

The  choice  of  such  an  ambassador,  Wogan  de- 
213 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

clared — having  only  invented  the  embassy  that  after- 
noon— was  left  entirely  to  him,  and  he  begged  to  ask 
if  there  were  anything  in  such  an  appointment 
which  might  be  at  all  pleasing  to  a  man  of  the 
Baron's  position  and  abilities.  Incidentally,  as  a 
matter  of  relatively  little  importance,  he  added  that 
the  post,  besides  the  diplomatic  dignity  it  afforded, 
would  be  one  of  the  best  remunerated  of  any  that 
were  in  the  disposition  of  the  Stuart  King.  Which 
was  true  enough  in  a  sense,  but  not  exactly  in  the 
sense  in  which  it  was  intended  that  the  Baron 
should  understand  the  matter. 

The  Baron,  his  head  humming  with  Tokay  and 
the  flow  of  Wogan's  eloquence,  was  delighted  at  the 
proposal.  His  vanity  was  flattered,  his  conviction 
of  his  own  abilities  confirmed.  He  saw  himself 
entering  London  in  a  triumphal  chariot  with  the 
George  about  his  neck  and  the  Garter  at  his  knee. 
He  pledged  his  new  master  in  a  fresh  bumper,  and 
assured  Wogan  that  King  James  had  no  more  zeal- 
ous or  faithful  adherent.  He  cheerfully  drew  up 
and  signed  a  paper  embodying  the  main  features  of 
their  conversation  as  a  proof  of  their  unchangeable 
alliance  and  friendship.  This  done,  more  Tokay 
followed,  after  which  Wogan  assisted  the  Baron  to 
his  bedroom  and  his  bed,  and  retired  to  his  own 
with  the  serene  satisfaction  of  one  that  has  accom- 
plished a  good  night's  work.  The  Baron's  silence, 
the  Baron's  secrecy,  was  secured  for  the  present, 
and  Wogan  could  continue  his  scheme  without  fear. 

214 


WOGAN'S    DIPLOMACY 

The  Princess  was  vastly  entertained  by  this  ac- 
count of  Wogan's  diplomatic  methods.  "But  I 
think,"  said  she,  "you  would  not  have  got  off  so 
easily  if  you  had  been  forced  to  deal  with  a  woman 
instead  of  a  man." 

Wogan  smiled  significantly  at  this  challenging 
speech,  but  he  preserved  a  provoking  silence  for  a 
while,  until  the  Princess,  guessing  that  something 
of  moment  lay  behind  his  reserve,  commanded  him 
to  speak. 

"Why,  madam,"  Wogan  replied,  "if  you  must 
needs  know,  there  was  a  woman  at  Ohlau  that  gave 
me  indeed  a  great  deal  of  trouble." 

The  Princess  begged  him  to  tell  her  all  about  it, 
and  Wogan  did  his  best  to  comply. 

To  deal  with  the  German  Baron  had  been 
easy  enough,  but  there  was  a  German  lady,  the 
Countess  of  Berg,  that  was  like  to  prove  a  more 
difficult  antagonist.  She  was  a  young  and  beautiful 
woman  that  was  a  great  friend  of  a  great  prince, 
and  that  glittered  at  the  court  of  Ohlau  no  less  by 
her  wit  than  by  her  beauty.  She  had  a  sister  that 
was  in  the  service  of  the  Dowager  Princess  Sobieski, 
and  a  brother  that  was  Governor  of  Breslau  under 
the  Emperor. 

It  was  plain  to  Wogan  from  the  beginning  that 
the  charming  Countess  had  her  suspicions  as  to  the 
reasons  of  his  visit  to  Prince  James  Sobieski.  He 
was  the  more  convinced  of  this  through  the  pains 
the  lady  took  to  mask  her  suspicions  and  to  mani- 

215 


THE    KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

fest  toward  himself  the  most  amiable  of  intentions. 
She  was  incessant  in  demanding  the  pleasure  of  his 
company;  she  was  persistent  in  plying  him  with 
assurances  of  her  sympathy  with  the  exiled  House 
of  Stuart  in  all  its  tragic  history.  Especially  she 
displayed  a  great  tenderness  over  the  misfortunes  of 
Mary  Stuart,  that  was  King  James  the  Third's  great- 
great-grandmother,  and  loudly  expressed  the  hope 
that  the  sorrows  of  the  race  might  shortly  end. 
As  she  was  earnest  in  her  show  of  affection  for  the 
line,  so  she  was  assiduous  in  her  endeavors  to  in- 
duce Wogan  to  respond  candidly  to  her  display  of 
interest. 

Wogan  carried  himself  warily,  was  judiciously 
chary  of  expressing  political  opinions,  and  showed 
as  much  enthusiasm  for  the  Stuart  cause  as  was  to 
be  expected  in  an  Irish  soldier  and  Catholic,  but 
no  more.  As,  however,  he  was  far  from  feeling 
sure  that  he  had  succeeded  in  lulling  the  pretty 
lady's  suspicions,  he  was  very  careful  when  the  time 
came  for  him  to  take  his  departure  from  Ohlau  to 
take  such  steps  as  might  throw  her  off  the  scent. 
He  announced  that  he  was  going  to  Prague,  on  his 
way  to  Italy  for  the  carnival,  and  he  spoke  often 
and  loudly  of  the  pleasure  he  expected  to  find  from 
a  sojourn  of  several  days  in  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful cities  of  Europe. 

On  the  appointed  day  he  took  his  farewells  of  all 
his  friends  and  enemies  of  Ohlau — from  the  weak 
and  kindly  Prince  to  the  beautiful  Countess — and 

216 


WOGAN'S    DIPLOMACY 

started  bravely  and  gayly  for  the  city  of  Prague. 
But  he  had  not  travelled  very  far  before  he  gave 
the  order  to  turn  his  horses'  heads,  and  he  con- 
cluded his  journey  under  a  feigned  name  in  Vien- 
na. There  he  learned  later  the  wisdom  of  the 
course  he  had  pursued,  for  his  fair  foe  had  indeed 
sent  a  letter  to  her  brother  at  Breslau,  which  is  only 
four  leagues  from  Ohlau,  informing  him  that  an 
Englishman  named  the  Chevalier  Warner — for  that 
was  the  name  by  which  Wogan  went  in  Ohlau — 
was  an  agent  of  the  Stuart  Pretender,  and  urging 
him  to  order  the  Governor  of  Prague  to  arrest  him 
and  hold  him  a  prisoner  until  instructions  could 
come  from  the  Austrian  court. 

Clementina  congratulated  Wogan  on  his  success 
in  baffling  the  machinations  of  the  fair  intriguer, 
and  asked  if  he  had  nothing  further  to  relate  of  his 
experiences  at  Ohlau.  Wogan,  cudgelling  his  mem- 
ory, admitted  that  there  was  a  moment  just  before 
he  took  his  departure  from  Ohlau  when  his  spirits, 
that  had  been  incessantly  exalted  and  depressed  by 
the  vacillations  of  the  Prince,  suddenly  leaped  very 
high.  Wogan  believed  himself  to  be  on  the  point 
of  inaugurating  a  European  war  in  the  interests  of 
his  royal  master.  The  Tsar  of  Russia,  being  very 
much  displeased  with  the  Austrian  Caesar,  was  will- 
ing, and  even  anxious,  to  make  the  Innspruck  im- 
prisonment an  occasion  for  taking  up  arms.  He 
saw  his  way  to  an  alliance  between  himself  and 
Sweden,  and  another  great  prince  who  should  be 

217 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

nameless,  with  England  as  represented  by  King 
James,  which  should  be  opposed  to  the  alliance 
manufactured  by  the  ministers  of  the  Elector  of 
Hanover.  All  he  needed  in  order  to  declare  war 
was  the  agreement  of  the  Prince  James  Sobieski  to 
join  the  enterprise  and  so  to  win  back  his  kingdom. 
Through  all  an  exciting  evening  the  Prince  and 
Wogan  discussed  the  situation.  The  Prince  seemed 
delighted  at  the  prospect  of  so  signally  avenging  the 
insult  afforded  to  his  house  and  of  regaining  the 
kingdom  that  was  his  by  right.  Wogan  went  to 
bed  in  an  ecstasy,  with  all  the  drums  of  Europe 
dinning  in  his  ears.  He  woke  to  a  day  of  blank 
and  bitter  disappointment.  The  Prince  immediate- 
ly that  he  saw  him  proved  to  have  changed  his  pur- 
pose entirely  in  the  course  of  a  night.  His  natural 
irresolution  triumphed  over  his  ambition,  and  noth- 
ing that  Wogan  could  say  could  stir  him.  The 
Prince  declared  that  if  he  had  a  son  and  heir  the 
case  would  be  different,  but  as  he  had  only  daugh- 
ters, there  would  be  no  one  to  succeed  him  on  the 
throne,  and  it  was  not  worth  while  plunging  Europe 
into  strife  for  the  sake  of  such  few  years  of  royalty 
as  a  victorious  result  might  afford  him.  To  this 
point  he  stood,  and  would  not  be  persuaded  other- 
wise; and  Wogan  left  him,  wishing  very  heartily 
that  when  it  pleased  Heaven  to  make  men  kings  it 
always  endowed  them  with  the  qualities  of  king- 
ship. 


XIX 

MORE   TALES    BY  THE    WAY 

NATURALLY  Wogan  did  not  confess  to  Clem- 
entina his  most  intimate  opinion  of  her 
princely  father.  He  did  no  more  than  express  a 
polite  regret  that  the  very  natural  scruples  of  the 
honorable  Sobieski  had  prevented  him,  Wogan, 
from  plunging  the  better  part  of  Europe  into  the 
throes  of  warfare,  and  thereby  affording  him  the 
only  occupation  which  he  desired  or  was  able  to 
understand.  Soldiering  had  been  Wogan's  busi- 
ness from  his  boyhood;  indeed,  it  might  be  said 
from  his  babyhood,  for  he  was  born  in  days  of  bat- 
tle; and  he  was  never,  to  the  end  of  his  adventurous 
life,  able  to  realize  that  there  were  other  occupations 
for  a  gentleman  to  follow.  He  was  indifferently 
aware  that  a  workaday  world  must  needs  be  provided 
with  tinkers  and  tailors,  millers  and  builders,  mer- 
chants and  lawyers,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  unim- 
portant necessary  fools  who  help  to  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  the  big  wars  that  make  ambition  virtue. 
He,  also  as  a  soldier,  saw  a  clearer  need  for  vintners, 
armorers,  manufacturers  of  playing-cards,  casters 
of  ordnance,  forgers  of  bayonets,  and  all  other  per- 

15  219 


sons  whose  labor  contributes  to  make  the  world  a 
universal  camp,  bivouac,  battlefield,  Walhalla. 

Such  being  his  simple  scheme  of  life — if  one  can 
conceive  of  him  as  seriously  elaborating  a  scheme 
of  life  or  ever  doing  other  than  following  out  his 
philosophy  of  taking  life  as  it  came  with  a  smiling 
face — it  was  naturally  pleasing  to  him  to  read  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Princess  Clementina  that  she  shared 
his  thoughts.  She  was  a  much  better  Sobieski  than 
her  father;  she  would  have  cheerfully  set  Europe 
ablaze  and  the  world  by  the  ears  to  regain  the 
throne  that  she  believed  to  be  hers,  or  to  advance 
the  cause  of  the  unhappy  gentleman  whom  it  was 
her  privilege  to  wed.  So  she  applauded  Wogan's 
narrative  with  shining  eyes,  burning  cheeks,  parted 
panting  lips,  and  heaving  bosom,  as  became  the 
daughter  of  a  warlike  race. 

And  Wogan,  gallant,  straightforward  soldier  that 
he  was,  grew  more  and  more  hopelessly  and  help- 
lessly certain  that  there  was  nothing  so  agreeable 
in  all  the  wide  world  as  the  approval  of  the  Princess 
Clementina,  as  the  interest  of  the  Princess  Clem- 
entina, as  the  smiles  of  the  Princess  Clementina. 
He  found  himself  wishing  that  the  journey  would 
last  forever,  wishing  that  Bologna  was  as  far  off 
as  the  North  Pole,  wishing  wicked,  pitiful,  imbecile 
wishes  that  made  him  feel  as  he  knew  he  would 
feel  if  at  some  state  banquet  he  suddenly  discovered 
himself  to  be  shamefully  overtaken  with  wine. 

Being  a  man  and  a  gentleman,  he  was  confident 

220 


MORE   TALES    BY    THE    WAY 

that  nothing  of  his  magnificent  idiotic  secret  had 
made  its  way  outside  the  confines  of  his  heart  into 
the  porch  of  his  mouth  and  the  windows  of  his 
eyes.  What  he  knew  of  himself  he  was  stead- 
fastly sure  that  no  one  else  knew,  and  to  his  own 
mind  he  carried  himself,  from  first  to  last,  with  a 
gay  carelessness  that  left  nothing  to  be  desired.  It 
was  his  business,  he  assured  himself,  to  amuse  the 
Princess,  and  so  he  strove  to  amuse  her,  and  told 
her,  with  a  better  grace  than  he  knew,  all  that  he 
had  to  tell,  and  incidentally  all  that  she  desired  to 
be  told. 

When  Wogan  had  exhausted  his  stock  of  reminis- 
cences of  the  court  of  Ohlau  and  its  intrigues, 
Clementina  showed  a  lively  interest  in  all  that 
concerned  her  future  husband's  fortunes,  and  more 
especially  in  his  attempt  some  years  earlier  to  win 
the  crown  of  England  by  force  of  arms.  When  she 
learned  that  Wogan  had  himself  taken  part  in  the 
Fifteen,  she  plied  him  with  endless  questions,  which 
he,  for  his  part,  answered  very  readily  and  very 
fully,  except  in  so  far  as  his  own  exploits  were  con- 
cerned, of  which  he  was  fain  to  say  little  or  nothing. 
But  the  Princess  was  not  to  be  so  put  ofF,  and  she 
insisted  in  obtaining  from  him  a  particular  account 
of  his  share  in  the  battle  of  Preston,  and  of  the  mis- 
fortunes that  followed  him  thereafter  which  led  to 
his  captivity  in  Newgate,  where  he  lay  in  great 
peril  of  his  life.  She  was  much  diverted  by  his 
account  of  his  escape  from  the  prison,  which  she 

221 


THE    KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

made  him  relate  at  length  not  once  only,  but  sev- 
eral times,  listening  to  it  with  the  delight  that  a 
child  has  in  hearing  a  familiar  tale,  and  like  a  child 
correcting  the  narrator  if  he  left  out  a  single  point 
that  had  been  told  on  a  previous  occasion. 

Having  made  an  end  of  his  own  adventures, 
Wogan  sought  to  interest  the  Princess  in  the  doings 
of  one  Michel  Vesozzi,  that  was  in  King  James's 
service,  and  told  her  the  part  he  had  played  in  the 
evasion  of  my  Lord  Nithsdale  from  the  Tower.  It 
seemed  that  this  story  had  not  before  reached  her 
Highness's  ears,  wherefore  Wogan,  with  greater 
freedom  and  length,  seeing  that  the  matter  did  not 
concern  himself,  told  her  the  whole  of  that  romantic 
tale  of  the  high-hearted  devotion  of  the  fair  Lady 
Nithsdale  for  her  imprisoned  lord,  which  led  her, 
after  failing  to  obtain  any  show  of  clemency  from 
the  Elector  of  Hanover,  to  gain  access  to  her  hus- 
band in  his  dungeon.  There  she  changed  clothes 
with  him,  and  my  lord  made  his  escape  from  the 
Tower  in  his  wife's  gown,  while  the  brave  lady 
remained  behind  and  took  his  place. 

Clementina  applauded  eagerly  the  courage  and 
devotion  of  so  honorable  a  lady,  and  was  eager  to 
know  what  fate  befell  her  in  consequence  of  her 
daring.  Wogan,  glad  to  be  able  to  reassure  her, 
told  her  that  though  the  Elector  of  Hanover  was 
very  furious  when  he  heard  of  my  Lord  Nithsdale's 
escape,  he  either  was  not  willing,  or  was  not  suffered 
by  his  ministers,  to  inflict  any  further  punishment 

222 


MORE   TALES    BY   THE    WAY 

upon  Lady  Nithsdale  than  a  brief  period  of  con- 
finement, after  which  she  was  suffered  to  go  free  and 
rejoin  her  husband  abroad.  Clementina  declared, 
with  tears  in  her  eyes,  that  she  thought  Lady  Niths- 
dale must  be  one  of  the  most  wonderful  women  in 
the  world,  and  one  whom  she  would  gladly  resemble 
in  fortitude  and  daring.  Wogan  felt  very  con- 
vinced that  the  fair  Princess  would  risk  as  much 
for  any  man  to  whom  she  gave  her  heart,  and, 
judging  by  the  composure  of  her  carriage  under 
the  trying  conditions  of  her  present  position,  he 
believed  her  capable  of  doing  as  great  a  deed  and 
accomplishing  it  as  successfully,  and  he  assured 
himself  with  vehemence  that  he  rejoiced  in  his 
heart  at  the  thought  that  his  royal  master  was  about 
to  receive  a  spouse  worthy  of  him. 

Even  Wogan's  experiences  on  his  journey  through 
the  world,  and  Wogan's  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
men  and  affairs  of  the  ever-glorious  Fifteen,  could 
scarcely  be  relied  upon  to  amuse  indefinitely  a 
princess  that  was  too  old  to  be  diverted  by  the  rela- 
tion of  fairy  tales.  Happily,  however,  there  was 
another  means  of  making  the  heavy  time  pass 
lightly.  Almost  from  the  beginning  of  the  journey 
the  fair  Princess  was  bitten  with  a  desire  to  learn 
English,  and,  of  course,  must  needs  have  Wogan 
for  her  teacher.  She  wished,  she  said,  to  be  able 
to  speak  to  her  dear  lord  and  husband  in  his  own 
tongue  and  the  tongue  of  those  whom  he  ought  by 
rights  to  govern.  Though  Wogan  assured  her  that 

223 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

his  Majesty  spoke  a  most  excellent  French,  still  the 
young  lady  was  not  to  be  dissuaded,  and  Wogan 
had  perforce  to  set  about  his  unexpected  task. 
There  were  many  pretty  little  English  phrases  that 
Clementina  was  eager  to  make  herself  mistress  of, 
such  as  "my  humble  duty  to  your  Majesty,"  and 
"I  love  you,  my  dear  lord,"  and  the  like,  all  of 
which  Wogan  repeated  to  her  again  and  again,  un- 
til they  became  impressed  upon  her  memory  and 
she  could  reproduce  them  by  herself. 

Wogan  sometimes  thought,  with  a  smile,  in  the 
course  of  these  lessons,  that  it  was  inevitable,  seeing 
who  was  her  tutor,  that  the  little  Princess  would 
something  astonish  her  husband  by  speaking  an 
English  that  was  marked  with  a  very  characteristic 
Kildare  accent.  He  thought,  too,  that  the  enemies 
of  his  master  who  resented  so  much  his  trust  in  the 
Irish  Catholic  gentlemen  who  were  devoted  to  him 
would  discover  a  new  reason  for  faultfinding  in  the 
fact  that  the  Prince's  Polish  bride  spoke  English 
like  an  Irishwoman.  But  there  were  other  disad- 
vantages in  these  English  lessons  which  Wogan 
found  less  provocative  of  mirth,  though  of  these  the 
Princess  probably  was  not  aware. 


XX 

THE   GREAT  MISHAP 

TN  this  wise  the  time  slipped  by,  profitably  or  un- 
1  profitably,  until  at  last  Wogan  was  able  to  assure 
the  Princess  and  his  companions  that  they  were 
indeed  very  near  at  hand  to  the  territories  of  the 
States  of  Venice.  Once  the  frontier  line  was  passed 
the  little  party  would  be,  theoretically  at  least,  in 
safety,  and  Wogan  hoped  with  good  reason  that 
they  would  be  practically  in  safety  as  well.  For 
he  relied  confidently  upon  the  neighborhood  of  the 
worthy  Swedish  gentleman  of  fortune,  the  Baron 
of  Winquitz,  and  his  hunting-party,  who  would  be 
numerous  enough  to  render  unavailing  any  rash, 
belated  attempt  at  capture. 

It  was  just  when  all  were  congratulating  them- 
selves and  one  another  upon  the  successful  issue 
of  their  enterprise  that  the  great  mishap  took  place. 
They  had  got  well  through  Reveredo,  the  last  gar- 
rison town  belonging  to  the  Emperor,  after  en- 
countering and  surmounting  the  usual  difficulties 
with  regard  to  relays  of  post-horses.  Fresh  cattle 
were  not  to  be  had.  Their  predecessors  on  the  post- 
road  here,  as  elsewhere  on  their  journey,  secured  all 

225 


THE   KING    OVER   THE    WATER 

the  fresh  beasts  that  were  obtainable.  All  they 
could  do  was,  with  the  aid  of  a  liberal  use  of  palm- 
oil,  to  persuade  the  postilion  to  let  them  continue 
their  journey  with  the  same  wearied  animals  that 
had  carried  them  to  Reveredo.  This  being  accom- 
plished, the  party  pushed  on,  as  swiftly  as  it  might, 
toward  the  frontier  and  freedom. 

When  Reveredo  was  so  far  out  of  sight  and  out 
of  mind  as  to  seem  a  thing  of  the  infinite  past,  and 
the  growing  dimness  of  the  waning  day  began  to 
arouse  thoughts  of  the  comfort  of  being  at  ease  by 
nightfall  within  Venetian  territory,  it  pleased  those 
of  the  Princess's  gentlemen  as  were  in  the  coach 
with  her — Wogan,  namely,  and  Gaydon — to  sing 
hallelujahs  in  honor  of  their  happy  passage  through 
an  enemy's  country,  and  especially  to  shower 
plaudits  upon  the  goodness  of  their  coach  that  had 
held  out  so  stoutly  against  so  many  mountains, 
rocks,  and  precipices.  While  the  two  soldiers  were 
thus  merry  and  cheerful,  the  Princess,  reproving 
them  playfully,  declared  that  it  was  not  as  yet  time 
to  sing  songs  of  victory.  "  We  are  not  yet,"  so  she 
said,  "so  near  to  our  journey's  end  as  to  reckon 
that  we  are  out  of  danger.  Stay  your  rejoicings 
until  we  are  clear  of  all  our  dangers.  We  have  a 
great  way  yet  to  go." 

Now  she  had  not  long  uttered  these  words,  and 
Wogan  and  Gaydon  were  still  reasoning  with  the 
Princess  upon  her  want  of  faith  in  being  out  of 
danger,  reasons  which  we  have  it  on  good  authority 

226 


THE   GREAT    MISHAP 

that  they  expressed  in  a  fine  laconic  style,  when  the 
great  mishap  came  to  pass.  Even  as  they  were 
talking  their  talk  was  interrupted  by  a  sudden 
sound  of  snapping  wood,  followed  by  a  lurching  of 
the  coach  that  flung  all  its  occupants  in  a  confused 
heap  together.  When  they  scrambled  out  they 
soon  found  what  had  happened.  The  axletree  of 
the  vehicle  had  broken  at  one  end,  and  there  lay 
their  carriage  on  the  lonely  road  in  the  deepening 
twilight  as  helpless  as  a  waterlogged  ship.  The 
one  satisfactory  feature  of  the  adventure  was  that 
no  one  in  the  carriage  had  been  hurt,  and  especially 
that  the  Princess  had  not  been  affected  by  the  acci- 
dent, which  she  took  as  gayly  as  if  it  had  been  a 
wholly  enjoyable  chance. 

It  greatly  distressed  Wogan  that  the  coach  should 
have  come  to  grief  just  at  that  spot,  for  if  it  had  held 
together  a  little  longer  they  would  have  passed  the 
frontier  line  that  separated  the  dominion  of  the 
Emperor  from  the  States  of  Venice.  It  was,  there- 
fore, with  the  greatest  energy  that  he  mounted  and 
rode  back  to  the  latest  village  through  which  they 
had  passed.  There  he  endeavored  to  stimulate  the 
sleepy-witted  peasants  of  the  place  to  exertions  that 
were  wholly  foreign  to  their  natures.  By  a  judicious 
blend  of  persuasions  and  promises,  however,  he 
succeeded  in  getting  a  certain  number  of  them  to 
work  with  something  like  alacrity  in  assisting  them 
in  their  difficulty. 

A  small  body  of  the  villagers  proceeded  to  the 
227 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

scene  of  the  accident,  where,  by  lending  the  support 
of  their  arms  and  shoulders  to  the  damaged  vehicle, 
they  succeeded  in  enabling  it  to  be  drawn  back  at 
a  slow  rate  to  the  village,  with  the  Princess  and 
Mistress  Misset  inside  it,  and  Gaydon,  Misset,  and 
O'Toole  acting  as  escort.  Such  accommodation 
as  the  village  could  offer  to  the  ladies  was  wretched 
in  the  extreme,  but  even  if  it  had  been  better  than 
it  was  Wogan  would  have  been  anxious,  if  it  were  at 
all  possible,  to  proceed  on  the  journey,  so  as  to  get 
across  the  frontier,  a  wish  which  he  knew  would 
be  vigorously  shared  by  the  Princess.  It  was  re- 
solved, therefore,  if  they  could  find  any  means  of 
transport,  to  push  on  and  have  the  coach,  which  it 
was  soon  found  could  not  possibly  be  repaired  and 
made  fit  for  travel  until  the  next  day,  sent  after 
them  to  their  first  resting-place  within  the  terri- 
tory of  the  States  of  Venice. 

To  this  end  Wogan  made  inquiries  as  to  the  exist- 
ence of  any  other  wheeled  vehicle  in  the  village,  and 
found  that  the  place  boasted  a  kind  of  cart  which 
the  peasants  called  a  carriole,  and  which,  after  some 
argument,  they  agreed  to  lend  to  Wogan  at  an 
exorbitant  hire.  Wogan' s  intention  was  to  employ 
two  of  the  horses  that  had  driven  the  coach,  and 
that  were  now  standing  useless,  for  his  new  vehicle, 
but  here  he  encountered  a  difficulty  in  the  obstinacy 
of  the  driver,  who  was  very  reluctant  to  let  his 
animals  do  any  further  work,  and  who  expressed 
considerable  surprise  at  the  unnecessary  haste  that 

228 


Wogan  was  inflicting  upon  the  tired  ladies  he  was 
escorting.  The  production,  however,  of  Wogan's 
purse  and  the  passage  of  a  certain  number  of  shining 
coins  from  it  into  the  palm  of  the  grumbler's  hand 
settled  the  matter,  and  Wogan  was  able  to  his  great 
satisfaction  to  inform  the  Princess  that  if  she  were 
willing  to  accept  the  use  of  a  very  clumsy  vehicle 
she  might  proceed  a  few  stages  farther  on  her  jour- 
ney and  pass  from  the  dominion  of  the  Emperor 
into  the  jurisdiction  of  another  power. 

The  Princess  was  delighted  at  the  suggestion. 
She  expressed  no  alarm  at  the  ungainly  appearance 
of  the  vehicle;  indeed,  had  it  been  a  triumphant 
chariot  she  could  not  have  welcomed  it  with  prettier 
expressions  of  approval.  Accordingly,  the  party 
with  all  promptitude  transferred  the  bulk  of  their 
belongings  from  the  old  vehicle  into  the  new;  the 
Princess  and  Mistress  Misset  climbed  into  the  cart, 
and  with  Wogan  and  Gaydon  on  one  side  and  their 
companions  on  the  other,  the  fugitives  made  their 
way  slowly  enough  along  the  road  toward  the  place 
of  safety.  After  a  little  while  they  came  to  a  great 
wall,  and  when  they  were  past  it  Wogan  came  to  a 
halt  and,  taking  off  his  hat,  saluted  the  Princess 
very  gravely.  "Madam,"  he  said,  " I  thank  Heaven 
that  we  have  come  so  far,  for  this  wall  marks  the 
division  between  the  territories  of  your  enemy,  the 
Emperor,  and  the  States  of  the  Republic  of  Venice, 
that  is  like  to  prove  your  friend." 

The  Princess  sprang  to  her  feet  in  the  car  and 
229 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

clapped  her  hands  gayly,  and  the  whole  party  were 
so  elated  that  they  laughed  and  sang  and  shouted 
like  so  many  children  newly  given  a  holiday.  It 
was  then  Wogan's  intention  to  push  on  as  far  as 
the  nearest  village,  which  was  some  miles  off,  and 
there  await  the  coming  of  the  mended  coach,  but 
the  ill-luck  that  had  caused  them  so  many  mis- 
adventures hitherto  had  yet  another  prank  to  play. 

As  the  adventurers  were  going  slowly  along,  the 
pin  of  one  of  the  wheels  dropped  unnoticed  upon 
the  road,  and  after  a  few  further  revolutions  the 
wheel  quitted  its  axle  altogether,  letting  the  carriole 
come  to  earth  somewhat  abruptly.  Luckily  the 
pace  at  which-  they  were  going  had  been  a  slow  one, 
and  luckily,  also,  the  horses  did  not  take  fright  at 
the  mischance,  but  stood  quietly  still  when  Wogan's 
companions  checked  them,  while  Wogan  assisted 
the  Princess  and  Mistress  Misset,  who  were  neither 
of  them  hurt,  to  escape  from  their  awkward  posi- 
tion. Mistress  Misset,  indeed,  looked  a  little 
alarmed,  but  the  Princess  Clementina  laughed  as 
heartily  as  if  falling  down  with  a  country  cart  were 
the  best  jest  in  the  world. 

Yet  the  delay  was  troublesome  enough.  The 
village  for  which  they  were  aiming  was  far  beyond 
walking  distance  for  the  Princess  and  Mistress 
Misset,  and  the  injury  to  the  carriole  was  beyond 
the  power  of  Wogan  or  his  companions  to  repair. 
While  Wogan  was  considering  the  advisability  of 
proposing  to  carry  the  ladies  riding  pillion  on  their 

230 


THE   GREAT    MISHAP 

horses  for  the  rest  of  the  distance  the  Princess 
caught  him  by  the  arm  and  pointed  to  some  masses 
of  masonry  revealing  themselves  amid  the  trees 
that  clothed  the  sides  of  a  neighboring  hill.  "Yon- 
der seems  to  be  some  kind  of  habitation,"  she  said. 
"Might  we  not  seek  shelter  there  until  assistance 
can  come  to  us,  now  that  we  are  within  friendly 
territory  ?" 

The  suggestion  appeared  feasible,  and  Wogan 
dispatched  Gaydon  to  mount  the  slope  and  recon- 
noitre the  ground.  Gaydon  came  back  presently 
with  the  information  that  what  they  saw  were  the 
ruins  of  an  old  castle  which  still  contained  some 
rooms  that  might,  with  the  aid  of  what  they  bore 
with  them  in  the  carriole,  be  made  habitable  for 
the  night.  The  Princess,  who  had  not  been  at- 
tracted by  the  thought  of  riding,  seemed  delighted 
at  the  idea  of  taking  shelter  in  so  romantic  a  spot, 
and  Mistress  Misset,  who  was  far  more  easily 
fatigued  than  Clementina,  was  plainly  relieved  at 
the  prospect  of  immediate  repose.  The  little 
party,  therefore,  made  their  way  slowly  up  the  some- 
what steep  incline,  Wogan  congratulating  himself 
the  while  that  they  were  in  Venetian  territory  and 
safe  now  from  pursuit.  His  congratulations  were 
premature. 

The  spot  which  the  Princess  had  discovered  was, 
as  they  learned  later,  called  Castel-Falcone,-  and 
had  been  in  its  day  a  stately  stronghold.  But  hav- 
ing been  taken  and  destroyed  in  one  of  the  many 

231 


wars  that  had  devasted  Italy,  it  had  never  been  re- 
built and  had  been  suffered  gradually  to  fall  into 
ruin.  It  still  possessed,  however,  certain  rooms 
that  were  sufficiently  intact  to  afford  protection 
from  wind  and  weather,  and  the  place  would  have 
made  a  pleasant  enough  refuge  under  happier  con- 
ditions, but  to  people  who  were  flying,  if  not  for 
their  lives,  at  least  for  their  liberty,  any  compulsory 
halting  place,  had  it  been  in  a  spot  as  fair  as  the 
Vale  of  Tempe,  would  necessarily  have  possessed 
but  few  attractions.  Wogan,  however,  with  his 
habitual  philosophy  of  cheerfulness,  treated  the 
halt  as  if  it  were  a  welcome  episode,  and  as  for 
the  Princess  her  spirits  seemed  to  mount  with  each 
successive  misadventure.  She  was  blithely  de- 
lighted with  the  place,  and  eager  to  appreciate  its 
beauties,  so  far  as  they  were  to  be  discerned  at  that 
late  hour  by  the  light  of  some  torches  which  they 
carried  with  them,  and  which  served  fitfully  to  illu- 
minate the  gaunt  walls. 

The  ruins  of  the  old  castle  stood  on  a  considerable 
eminence  above  the  mountain  road,  and  the  sides 
of  the  hill  were  thickly  clothed  with  trees,  which  in 
those  days  of  early  spring  were  showing  their  green- 
ness at  its  freshest.  From  the  summit  a  very  de- 
lightful stretch  of  country  was  visible  by  daylight, 
appealing  to  the  painter  and  the  poet  in  every 
spectator,  and  unmarked  as  far  as  the  sight  would 
reach  by  any  signs  of  human  habitation.  The 
beauty  of  the  place  was  not,  however,  its  main 

233 


THE   GREAT   MISHAP 

recommendation  in  the  minds  of  the  more  practical 
of  the  party.  Since  a  whimsical  destiny  had  de. 
cided  that  the  cart  must  break  down  at  a  spot  many 
miles  distant  from  the  nearest  village,  it  was  fortu- 
nate, at  least,  that  the  place  where  the  accident 
occurred  afforded  such  an  opportunity  of  shelter 
as  was  offered  by  the  ruined  walls  of  the  ancient 
castle. 

Although  most  of  the  upper  part  had  long  since 
disappeared,  and  though  the  great  space  that  had 
once  been  the  banqueting  hall  had  now  no  other 
roof  than  the  heavens,  there  were  by  good  fortune 
a  few  smaller  rooms  that  were  in  a  more  habitable 
condition.  In  one  of  these  that  still  boasted  a  roof 
to  shelter  its  occupants  from  the  elements  Wogan 
installed  the  Princess  and  Mistress  Misset,  con- 
structing rough  couches  for  them  from  the  cushions 
that  had  been  transferred  from  the  coach  to  the 
carriole,  and  effecting  a  kind  of  privacy  by  masking 
the  spaces  where  doors  had  once  been  by  hanging 
riding-cloaks  on  lines  in  lieu  of  curtains.  The 
party  had  some  provisions  with  them,  and  they  ate 
and  drank  merrily  enough,  congratulating  them- 
selves time  and  again  on  being  at  last  in  safety.  As 
all  were  very  tired,  however,  the  somewhat  ficti- 
tious revelry  did  not  last  very  long.  The  two  women 
retired  to  the  room  that  had  been  arranged  for 
them,  and  the  men  took  it  in  turns  to  sleep  and 
watch  till  dawn.  Under  such  conditions  the  ad- 
venturers passed  the  night. 

233 


XXI 

A   PERILOUS    PARLEY 

FOR  Wogan  the  night  was  one  of  little  sleep 
and  much  wakefulness.  Like  the  pious  ^Eneas, 
he  was  revolving  many  cares  in  his  mind.  The  in- 
terruption to  their  journey,  though  it  might  have 
happened  at  a  worse  time  and  in  a  worse  place, 
was  still  to  be  considered  as  very  unfortunate.  The 
fugitives  were  indeed  geographically  and  technically 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  States  of  Venice,  and 
no  Austrian  writ  had  the  right  to  run  there,  but 
Wogan  knew  very  well,  as  Misset  had  reminded  him 
in  their  talk  at  the  "Blue  Moon,"  that  with  Austria 
might  would  mean  right,  and  that  the  question  of 
a  few  yards  or  a  few  miles  on  the  wrong  side  of  the 
frontier  line  would  never  trouble  the  conscience 
of  an  Austrian  official  that  was  desirous  of  winning 
the  approval  of  Caesar. 

It  was  true  that  O'Toole  and  Misset  had  suc- 
ceeded in  silencing  one  courier  that  had  overtaken 
them;  but  that  one  courier  might  be  the  herald  of 
many,  and  that  one  courier,  when  he  came  to  his 
senses,  would  in  any  case  be  sure  to  proceed  to 
Trent  and  there  tell  his  story  of  the  events  at  Inns- 

234 


A    PERILOUS    PARLEY 

pruck,  and  of  what  had  befallen  him  at  the  little 
village  where  his  papers  had  been  stolen  from  him. 
In  such  a  case  it  was  scarcely  to  be  doubted  that  the 
Austrian  Governor  of  Trent  would  organize  an 
immediate  pursuit  which,  under  the  conditions 
caused  by  the  unlucky  delay,  might  mean  disaster 
for  their  plans. 

Wogan's  hopes,  therefore,  lay  first  in  the  im- 
mediate reparation  of  their  travelling  coach,  and 
next  in  the  speedy  arrival  of  the  Baron  of  Winquitz 
with  his  seeming  hunting-party.  As  to  the  Baron, 
however,  Wogan  entertained  misgivings.  He  did 
not  know  enough  of  the  man  to  rely  confidently 
upon  his  powers  of  keeping  promise  and  tryst,  and 
he  was,  moreover,  troubled  by  a  further  thought: 
He  had  not  been  able,  naturally,  to  fix  any  decided 
and  positive  date  for  the  time  of  his  expected  arrival 
in  the  States  of  Venice.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  his 
desperate  expedition  had  been  accomplished  with 
greater  speed  than  he  had  anticipated;  so  that  it 
was  quite  conceivable  that  even  if  the  Baron  had 
duly  organized  his  escort  he  might  not  yet  be  any- 
where near  the  place  where  Wogan  and  his  com- 
panions were  now  stranded.  Anxiously,  therefore, 
Wogan  waited  for  the  dawn. 

Dawn  revealed  to  Wogan  a  clearer  view  of  his 
surroundings  than  he  had  been  able  to  obtain  on 
the  previous  night.  The  open  space  where  he  and 
his  three  friends  had  encamped,  and  that  had  been 
in  old  days  the  stately  hall  of  Castel-Falcone,  was 
16  235 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

now  a  roofless  and  for  the  most  part  a  wall-less 
ruin.  At  one  end,  indeed,  a  portion  of  the  old 
castle  remained  in  a  state  of  tolerable  preservation, 
and  it  was  here  that  Wogan  had  discovered  the 
room  which,  with  a  little  pains,  had  been  made 
into  a  tolerable  sleeping  apartment  for  Clementina 
and  Mistress  Misset.  On  the  side  which  overlooked 
the  country  through  which  they  had  just  travelled 
nothing  remained  but  a  portion  of  the  pillared 
framework  of  a  great  window,  whose  crumbling 
bulk,  standing  so  gauntly  forth,  seemed  as  if  it 
were  kept  in  its  place  by  some  supernatural 
agency  that  restrained  it  miraculously  from  top- 
pling over  and  plunging  in  destruction  down  the 
hillside. 

For  the  four  men  their  bivouac  in  the  banquet- 
hall  of  Castel-Falcone  had  been  no  better  and  no 
worse  than  if  they  had  lain  in  the  free  fields;  but 
they  were  used  to  such  open-air  encampments,  and 
had  slept  in  the  deserted  place  with  a  soldier's  zest 
that  found  them  fresh  and  ready  for  the  new  day's 
business.  That  business  began  at  once. 

With  the  earliest  morning  the  four  men  were 
active  in  their  efforts  to  repair  the  disaster  of  the 
previous  day.  Wogan  remained  on  guard  at 
Castel-Falcone  while  Misset,  Gaydon,  and  O'Toole 
made  their  way  over  the  mountain  road  to  the  vil- 
lage where  they  had  left  their  coach.  During  their 
absence  Wogan  busied  himself  with  cutting  wood 
for  the  purpose  of  starting  a  fire,  and  had  collected 

236 


A    PERILOUS    PARLEY 

a  large  quantity  of  boughs  by  the  time  his  friends 
returned,  bearers  of  good  news  and  bad. 

The  good  news  was  that  they  had  succeeded  in 
obtaining  some  few  poor  supplies,  a  meagre  chicken, 
some  eggs,  a  ham,  some  hard  bread,  some  coarse 
cheese,  and  some  sour  country  wine,  as  well  as  an 
old  iron  cooking-kettle  that  Gaydon,  who  had  a 
forager's  instinct,  had  managed  to  command.  The 
bad  news  was  that  the  coach  would  take  longer  to 
repair  than  they  had  hoped;  first,  because  it  had 
received  more  damage  than  they  knew  on  the 
previous  evening,  and,  next,  because  the  village 
blacksmith  was  a  very  leisurely,  not  to  say  lazy, 
individual,  and  could  not  be  persuaded  or  bribed 
to  briskness. 

Wogan,  governing  his  impatience  as  best  he 
might,  decided  that  an  attempt  must  be  made  to 
find  Winquitz  and  his  men.  He,  therefore,  bade 
his  comrades  return  to  the  village  as  soon  as  they 
had  broken  their  fast  with  some  bread  and  ham. 
At  the  village  Gaydon  was  to  mount  the  freshest 
horse  and  ride  with  all  speed  along  the  highroad 
toward  Peri,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  for  any  sight 
of  an  ostensible  hunting-party.  If  he  found  the 
Baron  and  his  men  he  was  to  bring  them  at  full 
gallop  to  Castel-Falcone.  With  their  aid  any  at- 
tempt at  Austrian  interference  might  confidently  be 
defied.  O'Toole  and  Misset  were  to  remain  in  the 
village  and  do  all  in  their  power  to  accelerate  the 
mending  of  the  coach.  Thus  instructed,  the  three 

237 


THE   KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

friends  took  their  departure,  and  Wogan  was  left 
alone  to  guard  the  still  sleeping  women. 

With  a  great  deal  of  patience  and  dexterity  Wogan 
proceeded  to  build  a  fire  with  the  sticks  he  had  col- 
lected. He  was  not  inexperienced  in  such  do- 
mestic enterprises.  Ever  since  he  had  followed 
the  wars  he  had  learned  to  shift  for  himself,  with 
the  result  that  he  was  as  skilful  in  such  matters  as 
any  sutler  among  the  camp  followers.  When  he 
had  set  up  the  sticks  to  his  liking  he  produced  a 
tinder-box  and,  sheltering  it  with  his  hat  from  the 
winds  that  blew  so  freely  over  the  ruins,  he  suc- 
ceeded after  a  tedious  while  in  striking  a  light. 

A  few  seconds  later  a  fire  was  briskly  burning  on 
the  space  he  had  cleared.  Then  he  rigged  up  gypsy- 
wise  three  tall  poles  made  from  roughly  trimmed 
saplings  and  suspended  from  them  the  kettle  that 
Gaydon's  ingenuity  had  discovered.  He  had  filled 
the  kettle  from  the  mountain  stream,  and  now  he 
waited  for  the  water  to  boil  before  proceeding 
further  with  his  cookery.  He  did  not  allow  him- 
self to  reflect  upon  the  evils  of  the  situation  in  which 
he  found  himself.  To  reflect  upon  evils  that  you 
cannot  avoid  or  prevent  seemed  ever  to  him  a  waste 
of  time.  If  Gaydon  should  find  the  expected  men 
all  would  be  well,  but  till  he  knew  the  result  of 
Gaydon's  mission  it  was  useless  to  dwell  on  what 
might  happen  if  Gaydon's  mission  failed.  In  the 
mean  time  the  best  thing  he  could  do  was  to  devote 
himself  heart  and  soul  to  the  task  of  preparing  a 

238 


A    PERILOUS    PARLEY 

meal  which  might  be  sufficiently  appetizing  to 
tempt  Clementina  to  eat. 

He  started  at  the  form  his  meditation  had  taken, 
at  the  way  in  which  in  his  mind  he  spoke  of  his 
charge.  He  realized,  with  tremors  of  heat  and 
cold  at  the  realization,  that  he  thought  of  her  not  as 
"her  Highness  the  Princess,"  but  as  Clementina, 
the  fair,  brave  gir-l,  the  gay,  delightful  companion 
who  had  made  their  amazing  escapade  more  en- 
chanting than  any  tale  he  had  ever  heard  told. 
Into  these  few,  these  intimate  hours  that  had  faded 
from  the  dial  since  Innspruck  town  clock  had  chimed 
midnight  for  the  flight  he  seemed  now  to  have 
crowded  a  lifetime  of  divine  friendship.  The  stars 
of  those  flying  nights,  the  sunbeams  of  those  flying 
days  had  caught  up  and  carried  on  the  fire-points 
of  the  flambeaux  of  Ohlau,  and  like  them  illuminated 
the  loveliest  face  in  the  world. 

"Clementina!"  He  murmured  the  name  to  him- 
self again  in  a  rapture,  dwelling  tenderly  on  its 
lingering  syllables.  To  speak  it  so  even  in  thought 
was  to  taste  the  sweetness  of  the  savor  of  Eden's 
apple,  to  smell  the  fragrance  of  the  eternal  rose. 
If  only  she  were  free  and  his  equal,  one  to  whom  he 
might  hold  out  his  hand  with  his  heart  in  the  palm 
of  it.  If  only  she  were  free.  The  thought  haunted 
him  insistently  to  the  forgetfulness  of  the  other 
barrier  of  her  birth.  He  caught  himself  imagining 
what  might  happen  if  King  James  were  suddenly 
to  die.  Kings  might  do  so;  kings  were  mortal. 

239 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

He  found  himself  recalling  some  old  lines  in  a  roar- 
ing tragedy: 

"Great  kings  have  died 
A  day  before  the  red  assassin's  blade 
Was  edged  to  slay  them." 

Suddenly  he  raged  at  the  way  his  sick  thoughts 
had  led  him.  He  frowned  and  whistled  the  bur- 
den of  a  soldier's  song,  and  mentally  reproved  him- 
self for  his  audacity.  His  reproof  was  interrupted 
by  the  sound  of  bubbling  water,  and  he  turned  his 
attention  again  to  Gaydon's  kettle,  and  to  the  grizzly 
bird  which  awaited  belated  cooking.  He  was  soon 
so  busy  with  his  preparations  that  he  did  not  know 
he  was  not  alone  until  the  sound  of  a  sweet  voice 
giving  him  a  cheerful  good  -  morning  made  him 
glance  up,  and  he  saw  the  Princess  standing  on  the 
threshold  of  the  room  wherein  she  had  passed  the 
night. 

Clementina  looked  as  fresh  and  fair  and  unjaded 
in  the  morning  light  as  if  she  had  passed  the  recent 
days  in  ease  and  leisure,  instead  of  driving  desperate- 
ly across  country,  hunted  by  terrors.  She  now  ad- 
vanced toward  Wogan  with  a  smile.  "Let  me 
help  you,"  she  said,  and  made  to  steal  his  occupa- 
tion from  him. 

Wogan  stared  at  her  in  a  rapture  that  he  strove  to 
temper  with  regret.  "Your  Highness  awake  and 
astir !"  he  said,  reproachfully.  "  I  hoped  your  High- 
ness was  resting." 

240 


A    PERILOUS    PARLEY 

Clementina  stretched  her  arms  and  drew  in  a 
deep  breath  of  the  soft  mountain  air.  "My  High- 
ness is  tired  of  resting,"  she  protested.  "My  High- 
ness wants  to  taste  the  clean  air."  There  was  a 
look  of  pleasure  in  her  eyes  as  she  glanced  about 
her,  enjoying  the  freshness  of  the  morning  and  the 
beauty  of  the  prospect  visible  through  the  ruined 
walls.  It  was  with  no  show  of  eagerness  that  she 
asked,  "  Must  we  start  soon  ?" 

Wogan  shook  his  head.  "Impossible  for  the 
present,  your  Highness,"  he  declared,  resolutely. 
"The  coach  is  still  a-mending." 

It  was  one  of  Clementina's  chief  charms  in 
Wogan's  eyes  throughout  that  eventful  journey  that 
she  never  showed  impatience  when  there  was  noth- 
ing to  be  done.  She  seated  herself  now  on  a  rough 
seat  that  Wogan  had  constructed  from  the  cushions 
of  the  carriage,  and  leaned  forward,  looking  steadily 
at  her  companion.  "Then  my  Highness  wants  to 
be  amused,"  she  said.  She  was  silent  and  thought- 
ful for  a  few  seconds,  then  commanded  peremp- 
torily, "Amuse  me!" 

Wogan  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  jest.  "In 
what  manner,  your  Highness  ?"  he  asked,  with  an 
air  of  portentous  deference. 

Clementina  pretended  to  be  annoyed.  "That 
should  be  for  you  to  discover,"  she  answered,  "but 
if  you  be  slow-witted  I  will  find  the  answer  myself. 
I  will  help  you  to  cook  the  meal." 

She  said  this  with  an  air  of  great  decision,  and 
241 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

reached  out  her  hand  to  take  from  Wogan  the 
somewhat  withered  bird  he  was  about  to  deprive 
of  its  feathers,  but  Wogan  clung  to  his  prey.  "I 
would  not  dream  of  troubling  your  Highness  so 
far,"  he  protested. 

Clementina  laughed  blithely.  "You  think  you 
can  do  better  unaided/'  she  said.  "Vanity  of  men! 
Whatever  made  you  a  master-cook  ?" 

Wogan  was  making  good  play  now  with  his  bird 
and  wishing  that  the  body  he  was  rapidly  denuding 
were  a  trifle  less  skinny.  While  he  worked  he  ex- 
plained: "The  fortune  of  war,  your  Highness. 
When  I  was  out  in  the  Fifteen  with  his  Majesty3 
your  royal  consort,  I  learned  to  better  bad  victuals 
with  a  little  skill  in  dressing  that  I  had  picked  up 
when  I  was  a  boy  in  County  Kildare.  While  I  was 
in  Newgate,  waiting  to  be  hanged,  I  won  some  favor 
with  my  fellow-prisoners  for  my  skill  with  pots  and 
pans." 

Clementina  looked  at  him  with  eyes  of  cordial 
approval.  "I  did  not  dream  a  man  of  war  could 
be  so  practical,"  she  confessed. 

Wogan  was  pleased  at  her  earnestness.  "I  can 
assure  your  Highness,"  he  said,  "that  the  thing  is 
fashionable.  The  Marshal  de  Mirepoix  has  given 
his  name  to  a  way  of  treating  quails.  The  Due  de 
Montmerency  was  the  first  to  cook  chickens  after 
the  fashion  that  carries  his  name,  and  has  not  his 
royal  Highness  the  Due  d'Orleans,  Regent  of 
France,  invented  a  special  and  excellent  way  of 

242 


A    PERILOUS    PARLEY 

baking   bread  ?     I   assure   your   Highness  Charles 
Wogan  is  in  the  mode." 

Instantly  Clementina  rose  to  her  feet,  and,  ad- 
vancing to  Wogan,  laid  an  imperative  hand  upon 
the  half-plucked  bird.  "If  a  duke  may  stew 
chickens,'*  she  said,  "and  a  prince  of  the  blood 
may  bake  bread,  a  princess  may  very  well  try  her 
hand  at  a  dish.'* 

Wogan  did  not  surrender  his  withered  chicken. 
"It  is  true,  your  Highness,**  he  admitted,  "that 
Madame  de  Maintenon,  who,  although  not  of  kingly 
blood,  was  the  wife  of  a  king,  is  likely  to  gain  im- 
mortality by  her  way  of  cooking  mutton  cutlets.** 

"Yet  you  would  deny  me  my  chance  of  endless 
fame?'*  Clementina  said,  with  a  frown.  "Shame 
on  you!  Come,  what  are  you  going  to  ( cook?" 

"A  chicken  stew,  your  Highness,**  Wogan  an- 
swered, with  an  air  of  pride.  "I  learned  the  trick 
of  it  from  a  gypsy  in  Transylvania  many  a  good 
year  gone." 

By  this  time  Clementina  had  spied  the  eggs  that 
Misset  had  provided  lying  on  the  ground  by  Wogan's 
side.  In  a  moment  she  had  pounced  upon  them 
and  held  them  up  in  triumph,  two  in  each  hand. 
"While  you  are  plucking  your  bird,"  she  said,  "I 
will  be  boiling  the  eggs." 

As  she  spoke  she  popped  the  eggs  into  the  kettle, 
where  the  water  had  by  this  time  been  long  splutter- 
ing furiously.  As  the  eggs  splashed  their  way  into 
the  petulant  liquid  some  drops  displaced  sprang 

243 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

forward  and  caught  Clementina  on  the  wrist. 
Clementina  gave  a  little  shriek. 

Wogan  sprang  to  her  side  with  instant  sympathy. 
"What  is  it,  madam  ?"  he  asked,  and  his  face  could 
not  have  carried  more  concern  if  the  fate  of  em- 
pires had  been  involved  in  the  answer. 

Clementina  showed  him  her  hand,  on  which  a 
small  spot  of  angry  red  asserted  itself.  "I  have 
burnt  my  hand,"  she  cried,  fretfully.  As  she  spoke 
she  pointed  with  her  uninjured  hand  to  the  blemish 
that  had  been  caused  by  the  boiling  water.  "See 
there,"  she  said,  "already  the  blister  rises." 

Wogan  took  Clementina's  hand  very  tenderly  be- 
tween both  his  own  and  looked  at  the  little  fierce 
splash  with  commiseration.  "Your  Highness,"  he 
cried,  "does  it  pain  you?" 

As  he  asked  the  question  he  bent  so  low  over  the 
little  hand  which  the  boiling  water  had  offended 
that  his  lips  almost  touched  the  sharply  scarlet  spot, 
which  was  the  only  indication  of  the  ravage  that 
the  accident  had  effected.  Suddenly  he  remembered 
himself  and  checked  his  folly.  As  he  drew  back 
from  the  white  hand  which  he  held  prisoner  he 
lifted  his  head  and  his  eyes  met  the  eyes  of  Clem- 
entina. 

For  an  instant  that  seemed  an  eternity,  and  that 
yet,  when  all  was  said  and  done,  was  only  an  instant, 
the  two  seemed  to  regard  each  other  steadfastly, 
dimly  guessing  at  all  that  there  was  to  know.  There 
was  a  moment  of  tense  humanity.  Then  the  Great 

244 


A    PERILOUS    PARLEY 

God  of  Custom  triumphed.  Wogan  spoke  with  a 
voice  which  he  endeavored  to  make  at  once  careless 
and  at  ease. 

"Oh,  madam,  madam,"  he  said,  laughing  fool- 
ishly enough,  "how  the  gossips  of  London  would 
gape  and  stare  and  marvel  if  they  could  but  know 
that  the  affianced  bride  of  their  rightful  King  was 
boiling  eggs  on  a  mountain-side  in  Italy  with  a  poor 
Irish  gentleman  for  her  scullion  ?" 

The  gayety  faded  a  little  from  Clementina's  face. 
"Do  you  think  I  shall  ever  be  Queen  of  England  ?" 
she  asked,  and  there  was  a  gravity  that  was  almost 
sadness  in  her  voice  as  she  spoke. 

"Never  doubt  it,  lady,"  Wogan  said,  roundly, 
at  once  gladdened  and  saddened  by  the  change  in 
the  talk.  "I  have  no  fine  liking  for  the  English, 
but  I  cannot  think  that  they  could  long  endure  to 
be  ruled  by  a  High-Dutch  Elector  from  Hanover 
while  James  Stuart  was  waiting  to  enjoy  his  own 
again." 

Clementina  sighed.  "Is  it  so  much  sport,  after 
all,"  she  asked,  "for  us  folk  that  are  ordained  by 
God  to  be  kings  and  queens  and  princes  and  prin- 
cesses ?  We  have  our  rubs  and  troubles  like  the 
humblest.  Did  not  the  English  cruelly  kill  my 
dear  lord's  grandfather  in  front  of  his  own  Palace 
of  Whitehall  ?  Is  not  my  dear  lord  an  exile  from 
his  dominion  Heaven  knows  for  how  long  ?  And 
here  be  I  that  am  James  Sobieski's  daughter,  and 
may  be  Queen  of  England.  Have  I  not  been  a 

245 


THE   KING    OVER   THE    WATER 

prisoner  an  age-long  time  in  an  Austrian  town,  and 
am  I  not  now  flying  for  dear  life,  and  at  this  present 
cooking  eggs  on  a  hill  while  my  coach  is  a-mend- 
ing?" 

It  seemed  to  Wogan  that  it  was  very  delightful 
to  be  on  that  hillside  listening  to  James  Sobieski's 
daughter  enumerating  her  catalogue  of  woes;  but 
the  sweetest  voice  in  the  world  ceased  to  sound,  and 
it  was  clear  that  the  owner  of  the  sweetest  voice 
in  the  world  expected  Wogan  to  say  something. 

"What  your  Highness  says  is  as  true  as  true," 
Wogan  hastened  to  affirm.  "It  is  Heaven's  pleas- 
ure to  remind  the  greatest,  time  and  again,  that  they 
are  mortal  and  vulnerable,  like  any  peasant  in  his 
field,  or  sentinel  on  his  beat.  But  a  king  is  a  king 
and  God's  lieutenant,  though  he  feels  aches  and 
pains  like  the  meanest." 

Clementina  nodded  her  head  thoughtfully  as  she 
listened  to  Wogan's  obvious  wisdom.  "There  be 
times,"  she  confessed,  "when  I  wish  I  were  neither 
a  prince's  daughter  nor  a  prince's  bride,  but  just  a 
free,  obscure  maid." 

Wogan  knew  in  his  heart  that  he  wished  the  same 
thing,  but  he  made  a  valiant  effort  and  kept  the 
knowledge  tight  shut.  "Why  does  your  Highness 
wish  so  whimsically?"  he  asked. 

Clementina  gave  a  little  sigh.  "Oh,  I  do  not 
know,"  she  said,  wistfully.  "Because  I  am  tired 
of  this  long  journey,  I  suppose — no,  not  really  tired 
in  body,  never  think  that,  only  tired  as  to  my  mind. 

246 


A    PERILOUS    PARLEY 

But  as  we  drive  and  drive,  day  and  night,  with 
fear  always  flogging  our  poor  cattle,  why  I  have 
little  to  do  but  to  think  thoughts." 

Wogan,  his  heart  aching  with  a  sympathy  he 
dared  not  show,  did  his  best  to  dissipate  the  clouds. 
"They  should  be  blithe  thoughts,  bright  thoughts, 
Highness,"  he  insisted.  "Thoughts  of  our  goal 
creeping  nearer  and  his  Majesty  waiting  with  such 
a  smile  on  his  face  as  should  be  more  often  seen 
there." 

The  pair  were  silent  for  a  few  age-long  seconds. 
Then  Clementina  looked  very  steadily  at  her  com- 
panion. "You  are  deeply  devoted  to  his  Majesty, 
Chevalier  ?"  she  asked. 

"Is  it  devoted  ?"  Wogan  answered.  "What  Irish 
gentleman  has  another  thought  in  his  heart  than 
love  and  loyalty  to  King  James  the  Third,  God 
bless  him!" 

Clementina  pondered  this  problem  for  a  moment, 
with  her  chin  propped  upon  her  hand.  Then  she 
spoke  slowly.  "He  is  a  very  handsome  man,  they 
tell  me,"  she  said. 

Wogan  agreed  enthusiastically.  "There  never 
was  a  properer  king  of  his  inches  in  Christendom," 
he  declared. 

Clementina  went  on  speaking,  still  with  the  same 
thoughtful  look  on  her  face.  "Of  course,  I  only 
know  him,"  she  said,  "visage  and  carriage,  by  hear- 
say, and  by  such  poor  witness  as  a  portrait  may 
give."  She  lifted  her  chin  from  her  hand  and  faced 

247 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

Wogan  again.     "Tell  me,  Chevalier,  is  King  James 
at  all  a  man  of  your  seeming  ?" 

As  the  girl  looked  at  him  Wogan  felt  as  if  his 
heart  that  was  in  his  body  was  suddenly  racked  with 
intolerable  pains.  Why  had  not  High  Heaven 
been  pleased  to  leave  him  free  to  woo  her  for  him- 
self instead  of  making  him  play  the  wooer  for  an- 
other, even  if  that  other  were  Ireland's  and  Eng- 
land's King?  Why  might  he  not  even  now  forget 
his  allegiance,  his  duty,  his  honor,  and  tell  the  child 
that  was  seated  in  front  of  him,  and  that  was  speak- 
ing with  so  airy  a  grace,  that  when  she  thus  whim- 
sically linked  his  name  with  the  name  of  King  James 
she  joined  the  name  of  the  man  that  must  be  for- 
ever her  lover  with  the  name  of  the  man  that 
was  fated  to  be  her  husband,  the  man  she  had 
never  seen.  But  these  were  thoughts  that  Wogan 
should  not  admit  even  to  himself  that  he  was  ca- 
pable of  thinking,  thoughts  that  must  be  eternally 
shut  away  from  the  knowledge  of  the  little  Princess, 
his  little  Princess  that  could  never  be  his.  It  was, 
therefore,  with  a  countenance  as  clear  as  he  could 
command  that  Wogan  began  to  laugh. 

"Good  Lord!  no,  your  Highness,"  he  declared. 
"  How  should  such  a  rough  old  soldier  as  myself  be 
compared  to  his  gracious  Majesty?" 

Clementina  looked  at  him  curiously.  "Why  do 
you  call  yourself  a  rough  old  soldier  ?"  she  asked. 
"Your  manners  are  very  gentle,  and  I  do  not  think 
you  are  very  old." 

248 


A   PERILOUS    PARLEY 

Wogan  still  smiled.  "For  the  matter  of  that  I 
am  not  so  very  old  either,"  he  admitted.  "  But  fol- 
lowing the  wars  takes  the  smooth  off  the  cheeks 
betimes,  and  I  feel  as  if  I  had  served  for  a  thousand 
years." 

Clementina  mocked  him  a  little.  "That  proves 
you  to  be  very  young,  Charles  Wogan,"  she  as- 
serted. 

Wogan  made  her  a  smiling  bow.  "I  will  admit 
to  any  age  your  Highness  may  please  to  command, 
from  nine  to  ninety." 

Clementina  seemed  to  be  a  little  surprised  at  his 
hilarity.  "Do  you  always  keep  such  high  spirits  ?" 
she  asked. 

"  It  is  my  wont,  your  Highness,"  Wogan  assured 
her. 

The  frequent  repetition  of  her  title  made  Clem- 
entina frown.  "Do  not  call  me  Highness  so  often, 
Chevalier,"  she  said. 

Wogan  felt  bound  to  protest,  though  he  trembled 
as  he  protested.  "It  is  my  duty,  my  respectful 
duty,"  he  declared. 

Clementina  denied  him  with  a  pretty  decision  of 
denial.  "It  is  your  duty  to  pleasure  me,"  she  said. 
"  It  is  your  duty  to  obey  me  if  I  wish  you  to  be  less 
formal,  less  ceremonious  with  me.  Here  in  these 
mountains,  in  the  midst  of  all  these  perils,  in  the 
length  of  this  long  journey,  it  seems  trivial  to  main- 
tain the  princely  state." 

Wogan  felt  as  if  he  stood  on  sliding  sand  that 
249 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

swiftly  slipped  away  from  him,  hurrying  him  to 
destruction.  He  tried  to  still  his  throbbing  heart; 
he  tried  to  speak  with  the  cold  calmness  that  was 
due.  "If  you  are  now  a  fugitive  princess,"  he  ex- 
plained, "you  will  soon  be  a  fortunate  queen." 

Clementina  did  not  appear  to  be  at  all  convinced. 
"But  in  the  mean  time,"  she  said,  authoritatively, 
"let  us  carry  ourselves  more  equally.  We  are  two 
comrades,  you  and  I,  sharing  dangers  and  hard- 
ships together,  and  for  a  future  queen  I  have 
mighty  little  dignity  to  brag  of.  I  wish  you  would 
call  me  by  my  name." 

Wogan  protested  again,  as  a  drowning  man  might 
protest  against  destruction.  "Your  Highness,!  would 
not  so  far  presume — "  he  stammered,  and  was  dumb. 

"At  least,"  Clementina  pleaded,  winningly,  al- 
most wooingly,  "while  we  are  in  the  thick  of  these 
adventures.  They  have  made  me  so  cruelly  aware 
of  my  mortality  that  I  wish  to  be  no  more  than  a 
simple  mortal  for  the  nonce." 

"Your  Highness,"  Wogan  repeated,  weakly,  "I 
could  not  so  far  presume — "  He  said  no  more,  for 
Clementina  instantly  interrupted  him. 

11  There,"  she  cried,  "you  offend  again,  and 
wantonly,  after  due  warning."  She  was  silent  for 
a  breathing  time,  then  she  asked,  wistfully,  "Do 
you  not  like  my  name  ?" 

Wogan  made  a  great  gesture  of  protest.  "It  is 
the  most  beautiful  name  in  the  world,"  he  declared, 
and  spoke  the  truth  of  his  heart. 

250 


A    PERILOUS    PARLEY 

"Very  well,  then,"  Clementina  said,  pouting  like 
a  provoking  school-girl,  and  looking  deliciously 
mischievous.  "Go  on  then." 

Wogan's  hand  and  heart  were  on  fire;  he  could 
scarcely  speak.  The  golden  air  of  the  spring 
morning  seemed  to  sway  around  him,  to  be  full  of 
noises,  odors,  colors,  wonders.  "What  am  I  to 
say  ?"  he  gasped,  unconscious  of  the  foolishness  of 
his  question. 

"You  are  to  call  me  by  my  name,"  the  girl  said, 
with  an  assumption  of  gravity  that  was  almost 
terrible  because  of  the  greater  gravity  that  it  masked. 

Wogan  looked  at  her  steadily.  "Clementina," 
he  said. 

The  girl's  assumed  gravity  shifted  into  a  smile. 
"Charles!"  she  cried,  gayly.  Then  quite  quickly 
she  seemed  to  realize,  perhaps  from  what  she  saw 
in  his  eyes,  the  worth  of  the  one  word  so  spoken, 
and  the  gayety  faded  from  her  face. 

17 


XXII 

AN   UNWELCOME    VISITOR 

WHAT  Wogan  might  have  said  next,  or  Clem- 
entina said  again  in  her  turn,  lies  in  the  limbo 
of  lost  things,  for  at  that  moment  their  conversa- 
tion was  interrupted.  Mistress  Misset  appeared 
in  the  doorway  of  the  room  where  the  two  women 
had  slept.  Mistress  Misset  was  looking  refreshed 
by  her  night's  rest,  but  there  was  an  expression  of 
agitation  on  her  face  which  Wogan  in  his  own  con- 
fusion at  first  failed  to  notice.  He  found  himself, 
for  once  in  his  life,  ill  at  ease,  and  he  spoke  and  car- 
ried himself  with  an  awkwardness  that  would  have 
been  obvious  to  Mistress  Misset  if  her  mind  had 
not  been  preoccupied. 

"Her  Highness  and  I,"  Wogan  explained,  hur- 
riedly, "have  been  cooking  the  eggs  for  breakfast." 

Clementina,  who  was  perfectly  composed,  turned 
to  the  kettle  and  peeped  over  the  edge  at  the  danc- 
ing water  that  had  been  boiling  unheeded  for  long 
enough.  "They  must  be  rather  hard,"  she  said, 
calmly. 

Mistress  Misset  seemed  pleased  at  the  prospect 
of  food.  "I  must  admit,"  she  said,  "that  I  am 

252 


AN    UNWELCOME    VISITOR 

dreadfully  hungry."  She  paused  for  a  moment, 
and  Wogan  was  now  sufficiently  collected  to  notice 
that  something  was  troubling  her.  She  hesitated, 
and  then  went  on.  "By-the-way,  Chevalier,  there 
are  two  men  coming  up  the  road  leading  to  here. 
I  thought  I  ought  to  tell  you." 

Wogan  nodded.  "Oh  yes,"  he  answered.  "It 
will  be  O'Toole  and  Misset  returning  from  the 
village." 

Mistress  Misset  shook  her  head  vigorously.  "It 
is  certainly  neither  O'Toole  nor  my  husband,"  she 
insisted.  "I  saw  the  men  well,  and  they  were  both 
strangers  to  me." 

The  word  "strangers"  stirred  Wogan  with  a 
sense  of  alarm  which  he  was  careful  not  to  betray. 
Following  the  guidance  of  Mistress  Misset' s  hand 
he  went  to  a  gap  in  the  ruins  and  looked  in  the  di- 
rection she  indicated.  On  the  smooth,  green  slope 
of  the  hill  he  could  see  no  one  approaching. 

'They  are  hidden  behind  the  wood,"  Mistress 
Misset  explained.  "Two  men;  I  saw  them  dis- 
tinctly. They  were  coming  toward  us." 

"Some  peasants,  probably,"  Wogan  suggested, 
but  Mistress  Misset  would  not  hear  of  this. 

"They  were  dressed  like  gentlefolk,"  she  in- 
sisted, and  even  as  she  spoke  two  figures  came  out 
of  the  wood  about  half-way  up  the  hill  and  began 
to  climb  slowly  through  the  thinner  brushwood. 
They  were  a  considerable  distance  off,  but  Wogan 
knew  them  at  once.  The  shorter  of  the  two,  the 

253 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

one  that  led  the  way  and  seemed  to  move  more 
briskly  than  his  companion,  was  his  Serene  High- 
ness the  Prince  of  Niemen,  and  the  companion  was 
the  solemn  and  pompous  British  envoy,  Sir  Timothy 
Wynstock. 

Wogan  was  not  easily  taken  by  surprise,  but  the 
appearance  in  that  place  of  those  two  men  did  sur- 
prise him  very  much  indeed,  even  to  the  extent  of 
allowing  that  surprise  for  the  first  few  seconds  to 
overshadow  and  even  to  eclipse  the  imminent  dan- 
ger which  those  two  presences  portended.  He 
stared  in  amazement  and  rage  at  the  two  figures 
slowly  ascending  the  slope.  Serious  pursuit  he  had 
feared  in  the  first  stages  of  the  flight;  later  his 
apprehensions  had  been  for  some  courier  rousing 
authority  against  them.  But  he  had  not  dreamed 
that  the  Prince  of  Niemen  himself  would  track 
them  down,  and  now  he  paid  him  the  compliment 
of  recognizing  in  him  a  more  determined  and  dan- 
gerous enemy  than  he  had  expected. 

Swiftly  Wogan  drew  Mistress  Misset  away  from 
the  open  space  where  she  might  be  visible  to  those 
below,  and  led  her  back  into  the  middle  of  the  hall. 
He  turned  to  Clementina,  who  stood  composedly 
waiting  with  well-bridled  curiosity. 

"We  are  pursued,"  he  said,  quietly.  "Our 
enemies  are  upon  us,  but  there  are  only  two  of 
them,  the  Prince  of  Niemen  and  the  Englishman." 

"What  shall  we  do  ?"  Clementina  asked  as  quiet- 
ly, with  no  show  of  alarm  in  her  tranquil  voice. 

254 


AN   UNWELCOME   VISITOR 

She  seemed  to  have  sufficient  confidence  in  Wogan's 
power  of  meeting  every  emergency  and  overcoming 
every  difficulty. 

"You  and  Mistress  Misset,"  Wogan  answered, 
"had  better  retire  to  your  room.  It  is  possible 
that  these  gentlemen  may  not  know  we  are  here; 
at  least  it  is  better  that  we  should  defer  their 
knowledge  as  long  as  possible.  I  will  wait  here 
concealed  and  see  what  they  want." 

The  Princess  and  Mistress  Misset  obeyed  his  in- 
structions, Clementina  with  perfect  composure,  and 
Mistress  Misset  trembling  and  with  difficulty  re- 
straining tears. 

Wogan  instantly  busied  himself  with  looking  to 
the  priming  of  his  pistols,  and  as  he  was  so  engaged 
he  was  joined  by  O'Toole  and  Misset,  that  came 
scrambling  to  him  from  the  back  of  the  ruins. 

A  glance  at  Wogan's  face  told  Misset  that  he  had 
no  news  to  deliver.  "You  know,"  he  affirmed, 
and  Wogan  nodded.  Misset  hastily  explained  that 
while  he  and  O'Toole  had  been  idling  in  the  village 
endeavoring  to  animate  the  local  blacksmith  to  un- 
willing exertions  they  were  perturbed  by  the  ap- 
parition on  the  highway  of  two  horsemen  riding 
furiously.  After  a  little  while  O'Toole's  naturally 
long  sight,  preternaturally  sharpened  by  the  recol- 
lection of  his  humiliation  at  Strasbourgh,  believed 
that  it  recognized  the  Prince  of  Niemen.  Instantly 
he  and  Misset  quitted  the  village,  and,  fearing  to  be 
overtaken  if  they  followed  the  direct  road  to  the 

255 


THE   KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

ruins  of  Castel-Falcone,  they  made  their  roundabout 
way  through  the  trees  at  the  rear  of  the  castle, 
meaning  to  arrive  in  time  to  warn  Wogan,  but 
arriving  to  find  Wogan  already  warned. 

With  the  aid  of  his  friends  Wogan  hastily  un- 
rigged his  cooking  tackle  and  had  it  conveyed  out- 
side. He  spread  earth  and  leaves  over  the  black- 
ened space  on  the  ground  which  denoted  the  recent 
presence  of  a  fire.  Next  he  removed  the  coats  that 
had  served  to  curtain  the  Princess's  room  and  gave 
them  to  his  friends,  whom  he  instructed  to  wait 
out  of  sight  until  such  time  as  he  should  call  upon 
them  for  aid  by  whistling  the  signal  of  a  Jacobite 
tune.  Then  he  concealed  himself  in  a  part  of  the 
banquet  hall  and  waited  upon  the  event. 

A  little  later  the  Prince  of  Niemen  and  Sir  Tim- 
othy Wynstock  came  into  the  deserted  hall.  Sir 
Timothy,  who  was  a  heavy  man  and  unused  to 
climbing,  was  panting  and  gasping  for  breath.  His 
ruddy  face  glowed  a  noble  crimson,  and  streams 
of  sweat  ran  down  from  his  forehead.  His  com- 
panion, that  was  of  a  nimbler  carriage,  had  suffered 
less  from  the  steep  ascent,  but  even  he  seemed  well 
content  to  pause  and  take  breath.  The  two  men 
looked  suspiciously  about  them. 

"They  must  be  here,"  the  Prince  said,  "if  the 
tale  that  fellow  told  us  be  true." 

"I  see  no  signs  of  them,"  Wynstock  said,  sourly. 
He  was  irritated  out  of  his  usual  solemn  composure 
by  recent  events.  A  good  rider  across  country  at 

256 


AN    UNWELCOME    VISITOR 

home,  he  did  not  necessarily  relish  the  persistent 
pursuit  of  the  Princess  that  Niemen  had  kept  up 
ever  since  her  flight  had  been  discovered.  The 
whole  thing  seemed  to  him  undignified  and  un- 
English,  and  unlikely  to  be  successful.  He  did  not 
share  the  Prince's  confidence  in  the  result  of  the 
pursuit.  It  was  scarcely  likely  that  the  fugitives, 
even  if  they  were  come  up  with,  would  surrender 
themselves  at  the  mere  summons  of  a  German 
prince  and  an  English  diplomatist. 

The  means  to  enforce  submission  were,  indeed, 
for  the  moment  wanting.  The  force  with  which 
they  had  originally  sallied  from  Innspruck  had  long 
been  left  behind  for  lack  of  the  possibility  of  re- 
mounting. Niemen  and  Wynstock  had  pushed  on 
alone,  furiously  using  such  horses  as  they  could 
obtain,  but  lacking  all  news  of  those  they  pursued 
until  they  arrived  at  Trent.  There  they  found  an 
indignant  Governor  disturbed  from  the  seclusion 
enforced  by  a  slight  attack  of  gout,  in  order  to  listen 
to  the  bewildering  narrative  of  a  staggering,  be- 
mused courier  that  told  a  wild  tale  of  flight  from 
Tnnspruck  and  stolen  papers. 

The  Prince  of  Niemen  came  like  a  deity  out  of  a 
machine  to  confirm  the  fellow's  tale.  His  name 
and  rank  commanded  the  respect  of  the  Governor 
of  Trent,  who  was  still  further  impressed  by  the 
solemnity  of  the  representative  of  Great  Britain. 
He  instantly  and  willingly  provided  Niemen  and 
Wynstock  with  two  of  the  best  horses  in  his  well- 

257 


furnished  stables,  and  he  further  consented,  though 
less  readily,  to  afford  Niemen  an  escort  of  twenty 
horse-soldiers  to  enable  him  to  overpower  the 
refugees  if  he  should  come  up  with  them. 

The  Governor's  unwillingness  arose  from  the  fear 
he  had  that  the  fugitives  must  by  this  time  be  well 
within  Venetian  territory  and,  in  his  invalided  con- 
dition, he  was  something  timorous  of  provoking 
anything  approaching  to  an  international  compli- 
cation. But  Niemen  overcame  his  scruples,  and 
very  soon  he  and  his  Englishman  were  again  in  the 
saddle  and  upon  the  road.  As  before,  the  superi- 
ority of  their  mounts  enabled  the  two  leaders  easily 
to  outstrip  their  more  heavily  mounted  followers, 
who  were  well  out  of  sight  when  Niemen  and  Wyn- 
stock  clattered  into  the  village,  unaware  that  they 
had  been  observed  by  some  of  those  that  they  fol- 
lowed so  hotly,  and  made  the  inquiries  which  led 
them  to  attempt  the  fairly  toilsome  ascent  to  the 
ruins  of  Castel-Falcone. 

"They  must  be  here,"  the  Prince  reasserted, 
glancing  narrowly  all  about  him  as  he  spoke  and 
noting  signs  that  told  him  much.  The  man's  words 
were  convincing.  "What  other  party  of  men  and 
women  would  be  travelling  this  way  in  such  haste  ?" 

Wynstock  admitted  the  likelihood  of  his  com- 
panion's suggestion  with  a  grunt.  "I  see  no  signs 
of  them,"  he  said. 

"I  do,"  the  Prince  answered.  "There  has  been 
a  fire  burning  here  very  recently."  And  as  he 

258 


AN    UNWELCOME    VISITOR 

spoke  he  stirred  with  his  boot  among  the  leaves  that 
Wogan  had  cast  over  his  improvised  hearth,  and 
showed  his  companion  the  blackened  earth. 

"Perhaps  they  have  gone  ?"  Wynstock  suggested, 
but  the  Prince  would  not  accept  the  suggestion. 

"That  is  not  likely,"  he  said;  "in  any  case,  let 
us  search  the  ruins  thoroughly  and  make  sure." 
He  turned  to  his  companion  and  spoke  in  a  lower 
voice.  "If  they  should  be  here,"  he  said,  "I  will 
tell  them  that  our  soldiers  are  below  in  the  woods. 
You  must  confirm  this  statement,  and  it  may  per- 
suade them  that  resistance  is  useless.  In  any  case, 
the  arrival  of  our  men  can  only  be  a  matter  of 
time." 

He  left  his  companion  and  was  going  toward  the 
door  of  the  room  that  sheltered  Clementina,  when 
Wogan  emerged  from  his  hiding-place  and  walked 
calmly  to  greet  him. 

Wogan  greeted  the  two  gentlemen  as  cheerfully 
as  if  he  were  meeting  them  in  a  gallery  at  Versailles. 
"I  take  it  as  a  compliment,"  he  said,  "that  you 
have  been  at  such  pains  to  seek  our  company." 

The  Prince  of  Niemen  was  the  first  to  recover 
from  the  surprise  which  the  unexpected  apparition 
of  the  Chevalier  had  caused  him  and  his  com- 
panion. 

"Truly,"  he  said,  with  a  malign  smile,  "I  value 
your  company  very  highly,  for  I  think  I  have  found 
you  to  be  a  man  of  many  parts,  and  you  should 
make  a  diverting  companion.  Yet,  without  offence 

259 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

to  your  vanity,  I  must  needs  say  that  it  is  less  your 
society  I  seek  than  the  society  of  a  certain  lady 
whom  you  have  very  unwisely  prevailed  upon  to 
break  prison  and  who  should,  I  am  thinking,  now 
be  very  glad  to  return  to  her  rightful  custodians." 

Wogan  laughed  pleasantly.  "You  form  false 
ideas  of  life,  my  dear  Prince,"  he  said,  "and  I  am 
afraid  you  will  be  sometimes  disappointed  in  the 
hopes  you  build  upon."  He  turned  to  Wynstock 
and  addressed  him  affably,  "Do  you  not  agree  with 
me,  my  dear  sir  ?"  he  asked. 

Wynstock's  face  was  very  red  with  anger.  "  You 
are  an  amazing  rascal,  sir,"  he  said,  shaking  his  fist 
at  the  Chevalier.  "Were  you  in  England  you 
should  be  set  in  the  stocks  or  put  in  the  pillory  for 
your  conduct." 

"Come,  come,  Sir  Timothy,"  Wogan  answered, 
urbanely,  "you  are  unreasonable  to  be  so  wroth  at 
my  little  innocent  trick.  But,  indeed,  if  I  were  in 
England  I  should  be  in  worse  case  than  you  sug- 
gest, for  I  would  have  you  know  that  I  was  out  in 
the  Fifteen,  and  taken  at  Preston  fight,  and  that  I 
broke  prison  from  Newgate.  So  I  think  that  if  I 
were  in  England  now  it  is  the  gallows  I  should  be 
most  fearing." 

"You  deserve  to  be  hanged,  sure  enough,"  Wyn- 
stock growled.  "Who  the  devil  are  you?" 

Wogan  laughed  more  merrily  than  before.  "His 
Highness,"  he  said,  "would  tell  you  that  I  am  Sir 
Timothy  Wynstock,  British  emissary  to  his  Majesty 

260 


AN    UNWELCOME   VISITOR 

the  Emperor,  and  if  his  Highness  questioned  you, 
you  would  at  the  first  blush  be  prepared  to  say  that 
I  was  the  hereditary  Prince  of  Niemen.  I  thank 
God  that  neither  name  fits  me.  Let  me  present 
myself.  I  am  the  Chevalier  Charles  Wogan,  of 
RathcofFy,  in  Kildare  in  Ireland,  at  present  em- 
ployed upon  a  special  mission  by  his  Majesty 
King  James  the  Third  of  England,  Scotland,  Ire- 
land, and  France,  whom  God  defend/* 

He  took  off  his  hat  with  a  flourish  as  he  spoke 
the  last  words,  and  then  replaced  it  at  a  defiant  angle 
and  gave  his  enemies  a  chance  to  speak. 

'The  mission  is  at  an  end,"  the  Prince  of  Niemen 
observed,  dryly.  "Your  game  is  up,  young  gentle- 
man-adventurer." 

"I  think  not  so,"  Wogan  answered,  contemptu- 
ously. 

"You  are  at  my  mercy,"  the  Prince  said.  "I 
have  followed  you  from  Innspruck.  I  carry  an 
order  for  your  arrest  and  the  arrest  of  your  com- 
panions." 

"And  how,"  asked  Wogan,  "do  you  propose  to 
enforce  your  order  ?" 

"I  ride,"  the  Prince  explained,  "with  an  escort 
of  twenty  men,  well  armed  and  absolutely  at  my 
command.  If  you  are  foolish  enough  to  attempt 
resistance,  I  warn  you  that  the  consequences  are 
likely  to  be  serious  to  you  and  your  accomplices." 

"I  do  not  see  your  twenty  men,"  Wogan  an- 
swered, with  a  fine  air  of  indifference.  The  news 

261 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

was  exceedingly  disagreeable  to  him,  but  he  was 
careful  to  show  no  sign  of  concern. 

"They  wait  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,"  the  Prince  re- 
plied, lying  cheerfully.  "They  await  my  command 
to  ascend.  Come,  sir,  your  game  is  played.  You 
will  do  well  to  surrender." 

Wogan  shook  his  head.  "My  game  is  not  played 
to  the  end  yet,"  he  said,  "and  your  twenty  men  shall 
be  of  no  avail  to  you.  Any  order  you  carry  is  value- 
less, for  you  are  no  longer  in  the  dominion  of  the 
Emperor,  but  in  the  territories  of  the  States  of 
Venice." 

The  Prince  frowned  slightly  at  Wogan's  words, 
for  he  had  hoped  maybe  that  Wogan  was  not  so 
nicely  aware  of  his  geographical  position.  The 
words  had  a  greater  effect  upon  Sir  Timothy.  He 
had  all  the  insular  politician's  respect  for  established 
boundaries  and  regard  for  the  inviolability  of 
frontier  lines.  He  caught  the  Prince  by  the  arm. 
"If  what  he  says  be  true,"  he  whispered,  "we  will 
do  well  to  proceed  warily.  It  would  not  become  a 
representative  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  to  be  in- 
volved in  any  question  of  irregular  action  as  regards 
a  country  with  whom  we  are  at  peace." 

The  Prince  shook  off  the  restraining  arm  im- 
patiently. "Leave  it  to  me,  my  good  sir,"  he  an- 
swered. "The  point  is  one  of  little  moment  and 
shall  not  save  this  fellow."  Again  addressing 
Wogan,  he  said:  "Sir,  for  the  last  time  I  command 
you  to  give  up  the  lady  whom  you  have  inveigled 

262 


AN    UNWELCOME    VISITOR 

into  this  act  of  folly,  and  to  surrender  yourself  and 
your  companions  to  the  justice  of  my  master  the 
Emperor!'* 

"Sir,"  Wogan  answered,  mimicking  his  manner 
of  command,  "for  the  last  time  and  for  the  first 
time  and  for  any  time  at  all,  I  shall  do  nothing  of 
the  kind." 

The  Prince  scowled  at  him,  and  then  glancing 
around  and  raising  his  voice,  he  said:  "If  the  Prin- 
cess Clementina  be  anywhere  within  hearing  I  ad- 
vise for  her  own  welfare  and  for  the  sake  of  her 
companions  to  take  my  advice  and  give  herself 
up." 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  the  words  when  the  Prin- 
cess came  out  of  the  room  in  which  she  was  con- 
cealed, and  from  which  she  had  overheard  all  that 
had  passed.  "I  am  the  Princess  Clementina 
Sobieski,"  she  said. 


XXIII 

THE    PRINCE    PRESSES    HIS    SUIT 

WOGAN  thought  that  never  had  Clementina 
seemed  more  beautiful  than  she  showed  at 
that  moment,  as  she  stood  before  them,  her  delicate 
loveliness  framed  in  the  rugged  stonework  of  the 
doorway.  Niemen  and  the  Englishman  saluted 
her  profoundly,  and  Wogan  watched  with  a  flush 
of  anger  the  obvious  admiration  on  Niemen's  evil 
face. 

"Madam,"  the  Prince  said,  "I  rejoice  to  see  you. 
Would  that  I  had  had  the  honor  earlier." 

He  was  evidently  prepared  to  continue  in  this 
strain,  but  Wynstock  interrupted  him,  plucking 
him  impatiently  at  his  sleeve,  and  whispering  to 
him  to  make  proper  presentation.  Thus  urged, 
Niemen  obeyed. 

"Madam,"  he  said,  "let  me,  in  the  first  place, 
present  to  you  Sir  Timothy  Wynstock,  the  envoy 
from  Great  Britain.  In  the  second  place,  let  me 
present  myself.  I  am  the  Prince  of  Niemen,  very 
devotedly  at  your  service."  Again  he  saluted  deep- 
ly, and  again  he  eyed  the  Princess  with  the  leering 
admiration  that  made  Wogan  furious. 

264 


THE    PRINCE    PRESSES    HIS    SUIT 

The  Princess  in  answer  addressed  him  very 
quietly.  "I  have  been  restrained/'  she  said,  "in 
gross  violation  of  the  laws  of  nations  and  of  the 
courtesy  due  to  illustrious  houses,  a  prisoner  against 
my  will  at  Innspruck  in  the  dominion  of  the  Em- 
peror of  Austria.  I  have  been  freed  from  that  im- 
prisonment by  the  courage  and  daring  of  this 
gentleman  and  his  friends,  and  I  am  now  journeying 
to  Italy  to  meet  my  affianced  husband,  his  Majesty 
King  James  the  Third." 

Sir  Timothy  frowned  at  the  sound  of  this  title, 
but  he  said  nothing,  and  the  Prince  answered 
Clementina  in  a  cajoling  voice. 

"Your  Highness,"  he  said,  "his  Majesty  the  Em- 
peror of  Austria,  acting  in  accordance  with  the 
King  of  England — " 

Clementina  interrupted  him.  "You  mean  the 
Elector  of  Hanover,"  she  said.  "The  King  of 
England  is  now  in  Rome." 

The  Prince  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "It  is  not 
worth  while  to  argue  that  point,"  he  said.  "The 
Elector  of  Hanover  is  certainly  de  facto  King  of 
England,  even  if  the  Chevalier  de  St.  George  be 
King  de  jure.  The  ruler  of  England  and  the  ruler 
of  Austria  were  unwilling  to  see  so  fair  and  amiable 
a  princess  unite  her  destiny  with  that  of  an  exiled 
prince  who  is  a  dependent  upon  foreign  bounty  for 
his  existence.  In  restraining  you  from  an  act  of 
rashness  which  you  would  certainly  regret  they 
acted  with  a  kindness  and  thoughtful  concern  for 

265 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

your  interests  which  you  will  hereafter  recognize. 
Let  me  therefore  conjure  you  to  quit  this  place  and 
return  with  me  to  Innspruck." 

"I  am  going  to  Rome,"  Clementina  answered, 
quietly. 

Niemen  still  smiled,  but  there  was  a  hint  of  men- 
ace in  his  voice  as  he  continued :  "  I  hope  your  High- 
ness will  not  be  obdurate  enough  to  compel  me  to 
employ  other  methods  than  those  of  peaceful  en- 
treaty." 

Clementina  looked  at  him  disdainfully.  "Sir," 
she  said,  "I  will  detain  you  no  longer.  I  warn  you 
that  if  you  attempt  to  take  me  by  force  from  this 
place  you  are  committing  an  offence  against  the 
laws  of  nations,  and  this  you,  sir,"  she  continued, 
turning  to  Wynstock,  "will  be  able  to  assure  him 
even  better  than  I." 

The  Prince  bowed  and  answered  with  studied 
politeness.  "I  think,"  he  said,  "your  Highness 
may  be  mistaken  as  to  the  exact  position  of  this 
hill  upon  the  map  of  Europe.  At  least,  I  cannot 
now  afford  the  time  to  verify  the  statement.  My 
zeal  for  your  safety  and  my  duty  to  the  Emperor 
compel  me  to  do  my  utmost  to  deliver  you  from 
the  hands  of  these  adventurers." 

"I  have  nothing  more  to  say,"  Clementina  replied, 
quietly.  "You  may  retire,  sir." 

Wogan  moved  a  little  nearer  to  the  Princess.  "  You 
hear  her  Highness,"  he  said.  "You  are  dismissed; 
the  audience  is  at  an  end.  Good-day  to  you." 

266 


THE   PRINCE   PRESSES    HIS   SUIT 

Niemen  took  no  further  notice  of  Wogan  than 
to  wave  him  aside  with  a  contemptuously  im- 
perative, "Pray  be  silent,  sir,  while  your  betters 
are  conversing."  Then  he  addressed  himself  to 
Clementina  again.  "Madam,"  he  entreated,  "I 
must  very  humbly  and  earnestly  beg  of  you  not  to 
yield  to  any  feelings  of  rashly  formed  dislike,  but 
to  give  your  most  serious  and  careful  attention  to 
what  I  feel  still  called  upon  to  say." 

Clementina  looked  steadily  at  the  Prince,  and 
there  was  neither  like  nor  dislike  in  her  glance, 
but  only  a  certain  disdainful  curiosity.  "What," 
she  asked,  "do  you  still  wish  to  say  to  me  ?" 

The  insolence  of  Niemen's  manner  when  he  was 
dealing  with  Wogan  now  vanished  and  gave  place 
to  a  florid  display  of  politeness.  "Madam,"  he 
said,  with  a  sweeping  flourish  of  his  hat,  "I  am  here 
to  make  an  appeal  to  you."  As  he  spoke  he  en- 
deavored to  soften  his  countenance  into  an  aspect 
of  tenderness  and  entreaty.  "My  position,"  he 
continued  "is  an  unfortunate  one,  for  I  seem  to 
be  forcing  my  attentions  upon  a  lady  who  is  ap- 
parently reluctant  to  receive  them."  Here  he  gave 
a  little  sigh  which  he  intended  to  be  pathetic,  and 
resumed.  "But  I  have  comforted  myself,  your 
Highness,  with  the  thought  that  as  we  have  never 
met  until  this  moment  the  reluctance  of  the  lady 
need  not  be  interpreted  as  a  personal  matter."  He 
paused  for  a  moment,  as  if  he  expected  the  Princess 
to  confirm  his  words,  but  she  kept  silent,  and  the 

18  267 


THE   KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

Prince  went  on.  "Now  that  we  have  met,"  he  said, 
earnestly,  "I  wish  with  my  whole  heart  to  persuade 
your  Highness  to  abandon  this  unhappy  escapade, 
to  return  with  your  natural  guardians,  this  gentle- 
man and  myself,  to  Innspruck,  and  then,  above  all, 
to  make  your  humble  servant  the  happiest  of  mortals 
by  honoring  him  with  your  hand." 

Clementina  answered  him  very  quietly.  "  Prince," 
she  said,  "it  is  my  way  to  deal  frankly  with  all  per- 
sons, and  I  will  deal  frankly  with  you.  I  trust  that 
you  are  too  gallant  a  man  to  proceed  any  further  in 
this  matter  after  what  I  am  about  to  say.  I  do 
not  wish  to  return  with  you  to  Innspruck,  and,  in  a 
word,  I  do  not  mean  to  do  so.  Let  us  go  on  our 
way  in  peace.  My  heart  is  given,  and  I  cannot 
recall  it." 

She  ceased  speaking,  but  Niemen,  who  was  look- 
ing fixedly  at  her,  did  not  answer;  so  Clementina 
challenged  him.  "Come,  Prince,  what  do  you 
say?" 

Niemen,  with  his  gaze  still  fixed  upon  her  face, 
answered  her  composedly:  "Princess,  you  are  very 
beautiful." 

Clementina  flushed  a  little  and  looked  at  him 
haughtily.  "That,"  she  said,  "is  no  answer." 

Niemen  shook  his  head.  "Indeed,  madam,"  he 
protested,  "but  it  is,  and  the  best  answer  in  the 
world.  If  from  the  first  I  was  more  than  willing 
to  accept  the  union  which  it  pleased  two  sovereigns 
to  suggest,  your  flight  from  me  made  you  seem  in 

268 


THE    PRINCE   PRESSES   HIS   SUIT 

my  eyes  the  most  desirable  wife  in  the  world.  Such 
is  my  peculiar  humor.  Judge,  therefore,  what  I  feel 
now  after  having  seen  you.  Before,  I  loved  a 
shadow  like  Ixion  in  the  tale;  to-day  I  can  assert 
proudly  that  I  love  the  most  beautiful  reality  in  the 
world." 

Wogan  looked  and  felt  as  if  he  would  like  to  run 
a  sword  through  the  speaker.  The  Englishman 
frowned  disapproval  of  a  way  of  conducting  a  diffi- 
cult situation  that  did  not  appear  to  him  at  all  in 
accordance  with  the  best  traditions  of  diplomacy. 
The  Princess  only  showed  some  slight  annoyance. 

"Your  protestations  offend  me,"  she  said,  coldly. 
"I  have  appealed  to  you  as  a  woman,  I  now  com- 
mand you  as  a  princess,  to  leave  me  alone." 

The  Prince  shook  his  head,  and  there  was  a 
mocking  smile  on  his  lips  as  he  answered  her. 
"Your  Highness  wrongs  me,"  he  said,  "and  your- 
self, in  thinking  that  I  could  obey  such  a  command." 

"Then,"  said  Clementina,  calmly,  "there  is  no 
use  my  remaining  here  any  longer."  She  turned 
to  retire,  when  Wynstock,  advancing,  checked  her. 
He  hoped  that  the  dignified  eloquence  of  a  British 
statesman  might  have  greater  weight  than  the  ill- 
timed  wooings  of  the  Prince. 

"Madam,"  he  said,  "speaking  as  I  do  in  the 
name  of  my  illustrious  sovereign,  let  me  persuade 
you  to  change  your  mind."  Wynstock's  entreaty 
was  no  more  successful  than  the  pleadings  of  the 
Prince, 

269 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

"  I  have  said  my  say,"  Clementina  answered,  and 
quietly  passed  out  of  the  room. 

Wynstock  was  distinctly  ruffled  by  his  failure. 
"Very  abrupt,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  in  a  tone 
of  strong  condemnation.  The  Prince  looked  at 
him  and  laughed. 

He  repeated  aloud  in  a  sneering  voice  the  words 
that  Clementina  had  used.  "She  has  given  her 
heart  and  cannot  recall  it."  He  eyed  Wogan  de- 
risively. "Strange  words,"  he  commented,  "about 
a  man  she  has  never  seen.  Can  you  throw  any 
light  on  this  speech,  Chevalier  ?" 

Wogan  looked  the  dislike  he  felt.  "I  will  not 
discuss  her  Highness  with  you,"  he  said.  "You 
have  had  your  answer,  and  if  I  may  suggest  it 
without  seeming  inhospitable,  it  is  time  for  you 
to  go." 

Without  taking  any  notice  of  Wogan' s  suggestion, 
the  Prince  turned  to  Wynstock  and  spoke  swiftly  in 
a  low  voice.  "We  are  two  men,"  he  said,  "to  a 
woman  and  a  man.  I  will  engage  this  fellow,  and 
you  can  secure  the  woman." 

Sir  Timothy  did  not  at  all  relish  his  companion's 
proposal,  and  was  about  to  urge  him  to  wait  for 
the  arrival  of  the  soldiers,  who  must  surely  be  soon 
at  hand,  when  Wogan,  as  if  divining  the  meaning 
of  the  colloquy,  whistled  a  few  bars  of  a  Jacobite 
air,  and  in  answer  to  that  summons  O'Toole  and 
Misset  made  their  appearance,  each  armed  with 
sword  and  pistols. 

270 


THE    PRINCE   PRESSES   HIS   SUIT 

The  sight  of  these  unexpected  allies  somewhat 
dashed  the  ardor  of  the  Prince  of  Niemen.  "You 
see,  sir,"  said  Wogan,  "that  we  are  not  altogether 
unprepared  for  pleasant  visits  like  yours,  and  that 
you  may  as  well  now  draw  that  visit  to  a  close." 

The  Prince  frowned,  but  almost  immediately  his 
frown  changed  to  a  smile,  for  as  he  glanced  round 
he  caught  sight  on  the  distant  road  of  a  cloud  of 
dust  through  which  he  could  discern  the  gleam  of 
steel.  "I  will  leave  you  for  the  present,"  he  said, 
"but  I  will  return  again  very  soon  and  this  time 
with  a  larger  company.  I  see  my  men  approach- 
ing, and  your  resistance  will  be  useless.  I  shall  be 
here  again  very  shortly  to  take  charge  of  the 
Princess." 

Then,  taking  Wynstock  by  the  arm,  he  quitted 
the  ruins  with  his  companion,  and  the  pair  went 
slowly  down  the  steep  hill  together.  Below  on  the 
road  the  cloud  of  dust  was  drawing  nearer.  The 
Prince  began  to  run  down  the  hill  with  considerable 
alacrity  for  a  man  of  his  build,  waving  his  arms 
wildly  as  a  signal  to  the  approaching  troop.  The 
cloud  of  dust  came  to  a  halt,  dissipated,  and  re- 
vealed a  body  of  horsemen.  Wogan  could  see  them 
dismount  and  tether  their  horses  in  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  the  Prince. 


XXIV 

THE    BATTLE    OF   CASTEL-FALCONE 

WOGAN  looked  thoughtfully  at  Misset  and 
O'Toole,  who,  for  their  part,  returned  his 
glance  with  the  air  of  easy  unconcern  which  it  be- 
hooved all  Irish  gentlemen  in  the  regiment  of  Dillon 
to  wear  on  occasions  of  danger.  Wogan  addressed 
his  companions  with  something  of  the  proud  con- 
fidence with  which  Caesar  might  have  addressed 
the  Tenth  Legion  on  the  eve  of  going  into  action. 

"My  boys,"  he  said,  cheerfully,  "our  little  cam- 
paign is  keeping  up  its  character  for  liveliness  and 
human  interest.  Our  excellent  friend  the  Prince 
of  Niemen  is  paying  us  the  compliment  of  showing 
us  what  he  expects  from  three  Irish  gentlemen  that 
have  the  honor  to  serve  King  James.  We  must 
show  him  that  we  are  worthy  of  his  courtesy." 

O'Toole  and  Misset  nodded  approval  of  their 
leader's  words.  Wogan  continued  with  a  brisk- 
ness that  was  almost  hilarity. 

"The  Prince  of  Niemen,"  he  went  on,  "informs 
us  that  he  has  twenty  men  at  his  back.  That  brings 
the  number  of  our  enemies  up  to  twenty-two,  but 
I  think  we  may  exclude  the  Englishman  from  our 

272 


THE   BATTLE   OF   CASTEL-FALCONE 

estimate.  I  will  do  him  the  justice  to  say  that  I 
am  sure  he  would  like  the  fighting  well  enough,  but 
I  think  that  his  formal  mind  will  be  much  too 
offended  at  the  thought  of  infringing  the  rights  of 
the  Venetian  Republic  to  allow  him  conscientiously 
to  take  an  active  share  in  the  engagement.  That 
reduces  the  number  of  our  foemen  to  twenty-one, 
which,  according  to  a  very  simple  process  of  di- 
vision, allots  seven  of  them  to  each  one  of  us,  no 
great  odds  as  I  take  it  for  gentlemen  that  have  the 
honor  to  serve  King  James.  Here  we  be,  the 
three  of  us,  with  a  pair  of  pistols  apiece,  and  our 
good  swords,  to  say  nothing  of  a  very  fair  reserve 
of  ammunition.  We  ought  to  be  able  to  hold  this 
place  for  a  long  time  against  the  Prince  and  his 
followers.  The  ascent  is  steep;  there  is  little  or 
no  cover  for  the  last  half  of  it;  we  are  all,  I  am 
glad  to  think,  good  shots.  The  odds  will  be  mar- 
'vellously  reduced,  I  am  thinking,  before  we  get  to 
hand-to-hand  business/' 

He  paused  at  this  point  to  await  the  enthusiastic 
agreement  that  he  expected  from  his  friends;  but, 
not  a  little  to  his  surprise,  they  remained  silent.  In 
another  instant,  however,  their  silence  was  explained 
to  him  as  the  touch  of  a  soft  hand  on  his  arm  made 
him  turn  and  face  the  Princess,  who  had  quitted  her 
refuge  and  come  to  join  the  council  of  her  de- 
fenders. Mistress  Misset,  paler  than  ever,  but  with 
a  look  of  courageous  resolution  on  her  face,  stood 
in  the  door  of  the  room  and  watched  the  scene. 

273 


THE   KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

The  Princess  addressed  the  three  men  in  a  clear, 
firm  voice.  "Chevalier  and  friends,"  she  said,  "if 
I  were  to  consult  only  my  own  wishes,  I  should  re- 
sist to  the  death  this  attempt  to  capture  me,  for  I 
would  sooner  perish  here  than  return  ignominiously 
to  the  prison  I  have  left.  But  there  is  your  life  to 
consider;  your  life  and  those  of  your  companions, 
and  these  I  would  not  willingly  endanger/* 

"Your  Highness,"  Wogan  said,  simply,  "shows 
now  as  always  the  greatness  of  her  heart,  but  I  and 
my  comrades  adventured  on  this  expendition  with 
the  purpose  of  setting  you  free  and  bringing  you 
in  safety  to  my  royal  master,  and  as  far  as  we  are 
concerned  we  will  carry  out  our  purpose  as  long 
as  we  have  breath  in  our  bodies.  I  know  that  in 
saying  this  I  speak  their  mind  as  well  as  my  own." 
O'Toole  and  Misset  cheered  these  words  lustily. 
When  they  had  made  an  end  Wogan  continued  his 
speech.  "The  Prince  has  no  right  to  attempt  to 
detain  us  now  that  we  are  out  of  the  Emperor's 
dominion,  but  he  considers  clearly  that  might  makes 
right,  and  I  have  little  doubt  that  he  will  attempt 
to  take  you  by  force  of  arms.  However,  though 
the  odds  are  against  us;,  they  are  none  so  great 
that  they  should  prove  disconcerting,  and  I  make 
no  doubt  that  we  shall  teach  our  assailants  a  les- 
son in  international  etiquette." 

Wogan  spoke  with  a  greater  confidence  than  he 
felt,  and  it  may  well  be  that  Clementina  knew  this, 
but  she  smiled  approval  of  his  speech.  "You  are 

274 


THE   BATTLE   OF    CASTEL-FALCONE 

gallant  gentlemen,"  she  said,  "and  the  King  and 
Queen  are  indeed  happy  that  they  have  such  friends 
to  help  them  in  their  need.  All  I  now  ask  is  that 
you  let  me  stay  here  and  help  you  to  fight.  I  can 
reload  the  pistols." 

Wogan  was  all  for  dissuading  the  Princess  from 
this  course,  but  she  was  too  resolute  in  her  insist- 
ence, finally  converting  her  request  with  a  pretty 
air  of  sternness  into  a  command,  that  there  was 
no  help  for  it  but  to  obey.  The  powder-horns, 
bullets,  and  the  extra  pistols  which  the  party  carried 
were  laid  upon  the  ground,  and  the  Princess,  aided 
by  Mistress  Misset,  who,  with  astonishing  deter- 
mination, showed  no  sign  of  the  terrors  which  she 
felt  for  her  husband  and  herself,  for  her  queen  and 
her  companions,  proceeded  with  great  skill  and 
precision  to  load  the  weapons. 

While  the  two  women  were  thus  employed,  Wogan 
soon  made  his  preparations  for  defence.  The 
castle  could  practically  only  be  attacked  from  three 
points.  The  first  of  these  he  took  for  himself,  and 
he  stationed  one  of  his  friends  at  each  of  the  others 
with  instructions  to  fire  at  any  one  attempting  to 
scale  the  hill.  "Gaydon  may  be  here  at  any  mo- 
ment with  aid,"  he  thought,  "and  if  we  can  keep 
these  fellows  off  for  half  an  hour  all  may  yet  be 
well." 

For  a  while  all  was  very  quiet.  The  greenwood 
at  the  base  of  the  hill  had  swallowed  up  the  soldiers, 
and  there  was  no  visible  sign  of  any  enemy  in  the 

275 


vicinity.  Suddenly  O'Toole  called  out  that  he  per- 
ceived men  creeping  through  the  brushwood  at  his 
side  of  the  hill.  "Wait  till  they  are  within  pistol- 
shot,"  Wogan  commanded,  "and  then  fire." 

A  second  later  O'Toole's  pistols  rang  out.  One 
of  the  invaders  fell;  the  others  took  to  their  heels 
and  disappeared  again  among  the  trees.  For  a  few 
moments  the  attack  was  suspended.  Then  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  rush  the  ascent  from  all  three 
points,  but  the  volley  from  the  defenders  again  de- 
feated the  attack. 

This  manosuvre  was  repeated  again  and  again, 
and  each  time,  thanks  to  the  steady  aim  of  the 
Irishmen  and  the  rapidity  with  which  Clemen- 
tina and  Mistress  Misset  reloaded  the  discharged 
weapons,  the  attack  was  repulsed  with  loss  to  the 
attackers.  The  besiegers,  indeed,  fired  wildly  with 
the  carbines  they  carried,  but  their  shooting  was 
hurried;  they  had  nothing  but  the  ruined  walls  to 
aim  at,  and  the  volleys  did  no  harm.  While  this 
preliminary  skirmish  continued  the  Prince  of  Nie- 
men,  like  a  discreet  general,  did  not  expose  his  per- 
son, but  issued  his  commands  from  the  safe  con- 
cealment of  the  wood.  Not  a  few  of  the  invaders 
lay  on  the  hillside,  and  the  rushes  of  those  that 
remained  grew  less  and  less  frequent  and  more 
easily  scattered  and  forced  back  to  cover  by  the 
fusillade  of  Wogan  and  his  comrades. 

All  would  have  seemed  well  with  the  besieged  but 
for  one  thing.  By  this  time  their  ammunition  was 

276 


THE   BATTLE   OF   CASTEL-FALCONE 

running  short,  and  Wogan  advised  holding  their 
remaining  fire  till  the  last  moment.  The  flagging 
of  the  fugitives'  fire  told  its  tale  to  those  below  and 
encouraged  them  to  a  more  determined  method  of 
attack.  Already  more  than  a  dozen  men  were 
climbing  as  quickly  as  they  could  that  part  of  the 
hill  which  it  was  least  easy  to  defend  by  pistol  fire. 
In  a  few  minutes  they  would  be  at  the  top  of  the 
hill,  and  then  a  hand-to-hand  conflict  must  follow, 
with  the  odds  heavily  against  the  defenders. 

As  the  assailants  came  laboring  up  the  hill 
Wogan  and  his  friends  fired  again,  bringing  down 
a  couple  of  the  climbers  and  causing  the  others  to 
come  to  a  momentary  halt.  Mechanically  Wogan 
reached  out  his  hand  to  Clementina  for  another 
pistol;  but  this  time  the  mute  appeal  was  not  met 
by  the  prompt  presentment  of  a  freshly  loaded  arm. 
Clementina  had  left  her  task  and  was  standing  by 
his  side. 

"The  ammunition  is  all  gone,"  she  said,  quietly. 
Her  face  was  perfectly  calm,  and  she  rested  her  hand 
for  a  moment  on  Wogan' s  shoulder  as  if  to  assure 
him  of  her  sympathy  in  this  catastrophe. 

Wogan  said  nothing.  He  would  at  that  moment 
have  cheerfully  exchanged  the  leave  of  his  life  for 
a  barrel  of  powder  and  a  bucketful  of  bullets.  In 
spite  of  his  high  talk  he  could  not  help  dreading 
the  result  of  the  hand-to-hand  encounter  that  must 
now  arise.  The  enemy,  indeed,  that  had  not  come 
out  expecting  such  battle,  had  used  much  of  their 

277 


THE    KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

ammunition,  but  had  not  exhausted  it,  and  they 
were  more  than  three  to  one.  As  Wogan  looked 
about  him  in  desperation,  his  attention  was  ar- 
rested by  the  mass  of  half-destroyed  window  frame 
that  stood  poised  on  the  wall  of  the  ruins  overlooking 
the  slope  which  the  enemy  was  scaling.  Some  of 
the  iron  bars  that  had  once  crossed  its  space  still 
remained  loosely  in  their  sockets.  Wogan  found  a 
sudden  inspiration  in  the  sight.  The  thing  was 
clearly  top-heavy;  time  and  weather  and  creeping 
plants  had  loosened  the  stones.  The  whole  struct- 
ure seemed  to  hold  together  by  mere  chance.  Wogan 
ran  to  the  window,  and  with  little  difficulty  dragged 
one  of  the  iron  bars  from  its  place,  and,  using  it  as 
a  kind  of  crowbar,  forced  one  end  of  it  between 
some  of  the  stones  of  the  pillar  of  the  ruined  arch. 
In  an  instant  Misset  and  O'Toole,  appreciating 
their  leader's  purpose,  had  followed  his  example, 
and  the  three  men  were  busy  prising  with  their 
improvised  appliances  at  the  stones  of  the  tottering 
mass.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  force  an  entrance 
between  the  stones  that  had  been  so  well  placed 
together  by  the  builders  of  the  castle,  but  the  fierce 
energy  of  the  three  men  succeeded  in  forcing  the 
iron  bars  into  crevices  and  in  making  the  masonry 
above  them  oscillate  with  their  efforts. 

What  they  sought  to  do  they  accomplished  only 
just  in  time.  The  attacking  party  were  within  a 
few  feet  of  the  castle,  when  the  mass  of  masonry 
yielded  to  the  efforts  of  Wogan  and  his  friends, 

278 


THE    BATTLE   OF   C ASTEL-FALCONE 

swayed  ominously,  reeled  like  a  falling  column,  and 
then  hurled  itself  forward,  revolving  itself  as  it  fell 
into  an  avalanche  of  flying  stones  that  swept  the 
terrified  invaders  out  of  its  path.  The  victory  was 
for  the  moment  with  the  besieged. 

With  shouts  of  triumph  O'Toole  and  Misset 
leaped  from  their  cover  of  the  ruins  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  the  carbines  and  the  ammunition  of 
some  of  the  fallen  men.  Mistress  Misset,  her  forti- 
tude failing  at  last,  had  slipped  in  a  heap,  and  so 
lay,  huddled  and  swooning.  Wogan  turned  to 
Clementina  with  a  wistful  smile.  He  had  done  his 
best;  he  could  do  no  more;  all  kinds  of  wild  fancies 
were  whirling  in  his  mind.  He  seemed  to  be  again 
in  the  dancing-room  at  Ohlau,  to  hear  the  fiddles 
scraping,  to  see  the  light  shining  on  silks  and  uni- 
forms, jewels  and  orders,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  all 
to  meet  the  marvel  of  a  girl's  face.  The  marvel 
was  before  him  now,  conquering  the  knowledge  of 
imminent  ruin. 

Clementina  came  toward  him,  and  she  had  a 
pistol  in  her  hand.  "It  is  loaded,"  she  said.  "I 
kept  it  to  the  last.  Are  we  near  the  end  ?" 

Wogan  shook  his  head  sadly.  "I  fear  me  we 
are,"  he  answered.  "That  was  our  parting  shot," 
and  he  pointed  as  he  spoke  to  the  spot  where  a  few 
moments  before  the  huge  fragment  of  the  ruined 
window  had  stood.  "We  have  still  our  swords, 
but  I  think  we  must  be  outnumbered."  He  had 
no  thought  now  of  speaking  other  than  the  truth  to 

279 


the  fair,  pale  girl  who  looked  so  grave  and  so 
brave. 

Clementina  held  out  her  pistol  for  Wogan  to  take, 
and  he  did  so,  vaguely  wondering,  and  thrust  it  into 
his  coat-pocket.  "When  you  think  our  last  chance 
has  gone,"  she  said,  quietly,  "I  want  you  to  kill 
me." 

Wogan  began  to  gasp  a  horrified  protest,  but  the 
girl  stayed  him  with  a  gesture. 

"I  will  not  go  back,"  she  said.  "If  this  is  the 
end  of  our  journey  I  will  end  with  it,  here  and  now. 
I  will  die  with  you."  She  paused  for  an  instant 
looking  steadily  at  him,  then  she  continued.  "I 
would  rather  die  with  you  than  live  without 
you." 

Wogan  caught  her  in  his  arms,  and  she  clung  to 
him  lovingly.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  and  this 
woman,  the  dearly  beloved,  the  distant,  the  divine, 
were  standing  on  the  threshold  of  eternity  and 
must  needs  speak  the  truth,  knowing  the  truth. 

"Dearest,"  he  cried,  "I  am  mad  to  speak,  but 
I  must  speak.  On  the  edge  of  death  I  can  tell 
you  the  truth.  Clementina,  I  love  you." 

Her  hold  upon  him  tightened.  "Dearest,  I  love 
you,"  she  whispered. 

Wogan  could  wish  time  to  stand  still  and  leave 
them  so  clasped,  so  confessed,  through  the  ages.  But 
time  takes  no  heed  of  lovers,  and  in  another  mo- 
ment they  stood  apart,  for  O'Toole  and  Misset  were 
returning,  and  O'Toole  and  Misset  must  not  find 

280 


THE    BATTLE   OF    C ASTEL-FALCONE 

them  in  each  other's  arms.  But  each  looked  at  the 
other  longingly,  adoringly. 

O'Toole  and  Misset  came  in.  They  had  picked 
up  a  couple  of  carbines  apiece  and  some  ammunition 
pouches. 

"They  have  rallied  again/'  Misset  said, , calmly. 
"I  think  there  are  still  ten  of  them." 

He  tossed  a  carbine  to  Wogan  and  an  ammunition 
pouch,  and  the  three  men  loaded  their  new  weapons 
in  silence.  Clementina  came  close  to  Wogan  and 
whispered  to  him.  "You  will  keep  the  last  shot 
for  me,"  she  said;  "promise,  my  lover."  And 
Wogan,  with  an  unconquerable  madness  in  his 
blood,  promised  in  a  passionate  glance. 

Outside  on  the  hill  the  rallied  troopers  were  creep- 
ing steadily  along.  They  were  ten  in  number,  and 
they  still  carried  their  carbines,  which  showed  that 
they  still  had  shots  to  fire.  This  time  Niemen 
was  with  them,  walking  behind  them  and  encourag- 
ing them  to  advance.  Wogan  watched  with  a 
strange  exultation  the  slow  approach  of  the  enemy, 
waiting  for  the  last  moment,  when  he  would  again 
take  Clementina  in  his  arms. 

Suddenly  a  great  shouting  filled  all  the  adjacent 
wood  with  noise,  and  there  was  the  sound  also  of 
the  galloping  of  many  horses,  and  then  armed  men, 
many  armed  men,  came  tumbling  and  stumbling 
out  of  the  woods  on  to  the  hill,  and  Wogan  saw 
first  that  Gaydon  was  with  the  new-comers  and  was 
leading  them  on,  and  then  that  Niemen  and  his  men 

281 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

had  turned  and  were  running  away  at  full  speed. 
Gaydon  had  found  Winquitz;  Gaydon  and  Win- 
quitz  had  come  in  time.  Wogan  turned  toward 
Clementina  and  caught  her  in  his  arms  as  she  fell 
fainting. 


XXV 

BLUE   WATER 

WOGAN  pointed  to  where  in  the  distance  the 
town  lay,  the  town  with  two  strange  towers  that 
leaned  from  the  perpendicular  toward  each  other, 
their  suspended  inclination  conspicuous  against  the 
yellow  sky.  "Yonder  is  Bologna,  your  Highness," 
he  said,  with  an  exultation  in  his  voice  that  corre- 
sponded to  no  kindred  exultation  in  his  heart.  The 
eyes  of  all  the  party  were  fixed  upon  the  distant  town 
that  was  to  be  the  goal  of  their  pilgrimage — the  town 
that  meant  safety  at  last  after  so  many  perils  en- 
dured and  overpassed. 

The  little  company  was  again  as  it  had  been  at 
the  beginning  when  it  started  from  the  doors  of  the 
"Black  Eagle."  Winquitz,  jingling  in  his  pockets 
the  gold  he  had  so  loyally  earned,  had  returned  to 
his  Prince.  The  hunting-party,  its  work  done  and 
well  done,  had  broken  up  and  scattered  in  all  di- 
rections. Now  Bologna,  that  had  seemed  so  far, 
lay  close  at  hand. 

O'Toole,    Gaydon,    and   Misset   surveyed    their 
haven  with  the  satisfied  composure  of  men  who  have 
done  what  they  wished  to  do  and  meant  to  do. 
19  283 


Mistress  Misset's  face  was  wreathed  in  such  delight- 
ful smiles  as  she  had  not  worn  for  many  a  long  day. 
Only  she  to  whom  the  sight  of  the  ancient  and  fa- 
mous city  might  well  have  been  expected  to  afford 
the  liveliest  gratification  showed  neither  in  her 
bearing  nor  in  her  speech  any  sign  of  excessive  joy. 
Clementina  quitted  the  carriage  and  stood  for  a 
while  silently  on  the  highway,  shading  her  eyes  with 
her  hands  as  she  gazed  in  the  direction  of  the  dis- 
tant city.  What  thoughts  she  thought  her  face  did 
not  betray,  for  it  was  fixed  and  settled  like  the  face 
of  one  that  sleeps. 

After  a  little  while  she  turned  to  Wogan  and  held 
out  her  hand,  and  he  took  it  and  kissed  it.  "  I  have 
to  thank  you/*  she  said,  "  for  having  brought  me  so 
far/'  Then  she  turned  and  added,  "You  and  your 
friends,"  and  extended  the  same  favor  of  her  hand 
to  each  of  Wogan' s  companions. 

"There  were  times,  your  Highness,"  Gaydon 
said,  "when  I  thought  we  should  never  have  the 
pleasure  of  beholding  yonder  city." 

O'Toole  pulled  him  impatiently  by  the  sleeve. 
"Be  easy,"  he  protested.  "That  is  no  kind  of  talk 
for  an  Irishman  and  a  soldier." 

Misset  smiled  and  said  nothing. 

Clementina  turned  to  Wogan.  "Did  you  ever 
think  so,  Chevalier  ?"  she  asked. 

Wogan  shook  his  head.  "Your  Highness,"  he 
said,  "it  is  ever  my  way  when  I  undertake  a  piece 
of  business  to  assume  that  I  will  bring  it  to  a  success- 

284 


BLUE    WATER 

ful  issue,  and,  having  made  that  assumption,  I  go 
on  with  it  and  think  no  further  as  to  what  may 
befall/' 

The  Princess  applauded  him.  "It  is  a  wise 
policy,"  she  cried. 

"  It  is  a  philosophical  policy,"  Misset  said,  dryly, 
"if  a  man  can  but  keep  to  it." 

Wogan  laughed  gayly.  "It  gives  a  man,"  he 
said,  "the  advantage  of  self-confidence  in  any  under- 
taking, and  even  if  the  undertaking  come  to  naught 
your  misluck  does  not  increase  during  the  course  of 
it  with  doubts  and  fretting.  To  be  confident  of 
success  is  half-way  to  the  laurels.  But  by  con- 
fidence," he  added,  after  a  moment's  pause,  "I  do 
not  mean  the  vanity  of  the  unwise  and  the  unwary, 
but  such  reasonable  reliance  upon  himself  as  a 
man  may  have  that  has  seen  something  of  the 
world  and  affairs  and  learned  his  lesson  by 
them." 

Having  delivered  himself  of  this  much  philosophy, 
Wogan  now  suggested  that  the  party  should  resume 
their  journey,  but  the  Princess  declined  for  the  time 
being  to  enter  the  coach  again.  "Now  that  we  are 
so  near  the  end  of  our  enterprise,"  she  declared, 
"there  is  no  such  violent  hurry  for  the  last  stage." 
And  she  announced  her  determination  to  walk  a 
little  ways  along  the  road,  which  now  was  fairly 
even  and  easy  travelling,  and  she  signified  her  pleas- 
ure to  Wogan  that  he  should  walk  with  her.  Mistress 
Misset  remained  in  the  coach,  which  now  proceeded 


THE   KING    OVER   THE    WATER 

at  a  slow  pace,  Wogan  and  the  Princess  walking 
after  it  side  by  side,  and  the  other  gentlemen  follow- 
ing at  a  respectful  distance.  The  wild  adventure 
had  come,  as  it  seemed,  to  an  end,  and  to  some  of 
the  company  the  thought  brought  only  regret. 


XXVI 

CARDINAL   GUALTERIO   AGAIN 

THE  great  gardens  of  the  Cardinal  were  among 
the  most  beautiful  in  Bologna.  The  Cardinal 
himself  always  maintained  them  to  be  the  most 
beautiful.  Great  avenues  of  ancient  trees  led  in 
all  directions  to  spots  of  sylvan  calm,  or  to  spaces 
whose  very  formality  had  a  charm.  There  were 
terraces  adorned  with  the  images  of  old-time  gods 
and  goddesses.  There  were  groves  where  the 
greenness  of  the  foliage  was  relieved  by  the  white- 
ness of  marble  pedestals  supporting  the  busts  of  the 
famous  folk  of  the  antique  world,  sages,  statesmen, 
philosophers,  poets.  In  that  early  spring  the  sound 
of  the  ceaseless  fountains  was  pleasing  to  the  ear, 
as  the  sight  of  the  colored  company  of  flowers  was 
pleasing  to  the  eye.  The  Cardinal  piqued  himself 
upon  his  happy  taste  in  classical  horticulture. 
Pliny,  he  felt  sure,  would  have  approved  the  propor- 
tions and  the  adornments  of  his  gardens.  Cicero 
would  have  delighted  to  stroll  therein,  conversing 
affably,  had  chronology  so  permitted,  with  Epicurus, 
and  Socrates,  Marcus  Aurelius,  and  St.  Augustine. 
Truly  it  was  a  garden  of  gardens,  a  little  Elysian 

287 


Field  all  to  itself,  of  which  he,  Cardinal  Gualterio, 
was  the  happy  shepherd. 

In  the  heart  of  that  charming  garden  the  Cardinal 
had  built  himself  a  pavilion  which  was  only  a  little 
less  magnificent  and  a  little  less  luxurious  than 
the  stately  palace  which  prefaced  the  glory  of  those 
noble  acres.  In  the  palace  Cardinal  Gualterio  was 
Cardinal  Gualterio,  the  famous  prelate,  the  urbane 
host,  the  distinguished  scholar,  the  pre-eminent 
theologian — even,  so  some  said  who  pretended  to 
know  better  than  their  fellows,  the  amazing,  daring 
politician  who  played  with  the  forces  of  human  life 
as  cunningly  and  as  cleverly  as  the  chymist  played 
with  the  drugs  and  unguents,  the  actions  and  re- 
actions of  the  world  of  science.  But  in  the  wonder- 
ful, lovely  pavilion  Cardinal  Gualterio  was  wont  to 
permit  himself  to  forget  for  the  time  being  that  he 
was  Cardinal  Gualterio,  and  to  think  of  himself 
only  as  a  brilliant,  literate,  infinitely  accomplished 
man  of  the  world,  whose  earliest  training  had  been 
in  arms,  and  whose  affections  were  still  keener  for 
a  well-balanced  blade  and  a  well-painted  nymph 
than  for  the  best  conceived  and  delivered  of  all  im- 
aginable homilies,  or  the  best  argued  thesis  that 
ever  set  a  synod  of  ecclesiastics  by  the  ears.  Cardinal 
Gualterio  was  a  delightful  man,  but  nobody,  ex- 
cept Cardinal  Gualterio,  really  knew  how  delightful 
he  was. 

Behold  then  our  Cardinal,  some  days  after  the 
battle  of  Castel-Falcone,  seated  in  the  beautiful 

288 


CARDINAL   GUALTERIO    AGAIN 

room  of  his  beautiful  pavilion,  very  busy  with  his 
secretary,  Eusebio.  The  roof  of  the  arched  room  in 
which  he  sat  glittered  with  gilding  and  blazed  with 
the  jewelry  of  color.  The  cunningest  fingers  to 
handle  brush  and  mix  pigment  in  Italy  had  made 
the  walls  a  glowing  theatre  of  splendid  and  terrible 
events,  terrestrial,  infernal,  and  celestial.  From  the 
table  where  he  sat  at  ease  the  Cardinal's  gaze  could 
comfortably  travel  along  an  admirable  panorama 
of  the  great  events  of  the  world's  fact  and  the  world's 
fable,  its  mythology,  its  theology,  its  history. 
Frescoes  that  presented  the  story  of  the  siege  of 
Troy  were  succeeded  by  others  that  told  of  the 
doings  of  Saul  or  David  or  Samson.  Here  Daphne 
withered  into  laurel  under  the  feet  of  pursuing 
Apollo;  here  Syrinx  stiffened  into  reeds  before  the 
kisses  of  the  goatish  Pan;  here  the  whimsical, 
mystical  metamorphosis  took  place  that  made  the 
lover  of  the  Latin  legend  boy  and  maid  in  one.  And 
hard  by  came  splendid  scenes  that  might  have  been 
magnified  from  the  pages  of  a  missal,  where  the 
Magi  knelt  beneath  the  sudden  star,  and  the  bearded 
doctors  argued  impotently  with  the  Infant  that  was 
all  wise.  The  Cardinal  was,  as  he  frankly  admitted 
to  his  intimates — and  it  was  his  way  to  make  all 
the  world  his  intimate,  or  make  all  the  world  believe 
itself  so — a  man  with  many  sides  to  his  mind,  that 
could  be  pleased  and  pacified  by  many  kinds  of 
food. 

The  Cardinal's  room  was  terminated  at  one  end 
289 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

by  a  row  of  slim  pillars  of  red  porphyry,  which  gave 
on  to  a  terrace  that  overlooked  the  Cardinal's  pri- 
vate garden,  the  garden  within  a  garden,  as  it  were, 
in  which  only  those  that  for  some  reason  or  other 
were  specially  favored  by  the  Cardinal — and  his 
reasons  for  such  favoring  were  many  and  various — 
ever  had  the  good  fortune  to  wander.  Here  the 
groves  were  the  greenest  and  discreetest;  here  the 
statues  were  the  whitest  and  their  subjects  the 
divinest;  here  the  music  of  the  fountains  in  their 
marble  basins  seemed  the  most  melodious. 

The  Cardinal  had  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  greenness 
of  this  garden  through  the  crimsoned  pillars  as  he 
listened  with  tranquillity  to  the  voice  of  Eusebio, 
who  was  reading  to  him  in  a  clear,  sweet,  slightly 
shrill  voice  the  flowing  periods  of  the  sonorous  Latin 
of  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  vehement  of  the 
early  Fathers.  The  Cardinal  listened  to  the  read- 
ing with  a  countenance  from  which  all  expression 
was  completely  banished.  On  the  handsome  face 
whose  features  had  been  softened  by  time  and  ease 
from  their  early  alertness  an  air  of  absolute  repose 
and  contentment  reigned.  The  ringing  periods, 
the  fierce  invectives,  the  passionate  exultations  of 
the  theologian  left  him  untroubled  in  his  serene, 
equipoised,  critical  curiosity. 

What  the  Cardinal  was  really  thinking  of  behind 
that  kindly  mask  of  beatified  interest  had  nothing 
at  all  to  do  with  the  lava  of  Tertullian.  For  the 
moment  the  great  game  of  life  had  narrowed  itself 

290 


CARDINAL   GUALTERIO    AGAIN 

for  him  to  a  very  small  board,  with  very  few  pieces 
moving  upon  it,  or  to  be  moved  upon  it.  First  in 
rank  of  these  pieces  was  the  man  who  called  him- 
self, and  whom  the  Cardinal  was  delighted  to  call, 
James  the  Third,  King  of  England,  Ireland,  Scot- 
land, and  France,  Defender  of  the  Faith.  The 
Cardinal  would  have  preferred  very  much  that 
James  the  Third  was  really  James  the  Third,  could 
really  ever  be  James  the  Third.  He  was  clearly 
convinced,  in  every  corner  of  his  cunning  mind,  that 
he  never  would  be,  never  could  be,  anything  of  the 
kind.  The  Cardinal  knew  too  much  of  England, 
too  much  of  France,  too  much  of  Austria,  too  much 
of  the  world  for  that.  But  it  suited  him  and  the 
cause  he  served  to  keep  that  figure  forward  on  the 
stage  of  the  European  puppet-play.  The  puppet 
might  wear  its  crown  awry;  the  puppet's  enemies 
might  nickname  it  "Mr.  Melancholy,"  might  babble 
brutally  and  foolishly  enough  of  bastardy,  might 
deride  the  pomposity,  the  pedantry,  the  precision  of 
the  man  who  claimed  to  be  King  of  England;  but 
the  puppet  was  a  useful  piece  to  play  with,  and  the 
Cardinal  was  prepared  to  play  with  him  to  the  last 
moment  when  he  was  worth  playing  with. 

Over  the  musing  mind  of  the  Cardinal  there  came 
the  recollection  of  a  letter  that  had  been  written  a 
lustre  earlier,  a  letter  written  by  an  Englishman 
that  knew  James  Stuart  well,  to  a  friend  in  England. 
The  writer  of  the  letter  was  not  of  James  Stuart's 
faith,  but  he  admired  James  Stuart  mightily  and 

291 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

painted  an  admiring  picture  of  the  Prince.  There 
was  a  copy  of  the  letter  in  the  Cardinal's  archives, 
but  he  had  no  need  to  bid  his  secretary  seek  for  it; 
what  it  said  was  stored  in  his  memory. 

"And  first,  for  the  person  of  the  Chevalier  which 
you  desire  to  know;  he  is  tall,  straight,  and  clean 
limb'd,  slender,  yet  his  bones  pretty  large.  He  has 
a  very  graceful  mien,  walks  fast,  and  his  gait  has 
great  resemblance  of  his  uncle,  King  Charles  II., 
and  the  lines  of  his  face  grow  daily  more  and  more 
like  him.  He  uses  exercise  more  for  health  than 
diversion;  he  walks  abroad,  shoots,  or  hunts  every 
day,  but  is  not  what  they  call  a  keen  sportsman. 
Being  asked  what  he  most  delighted  in,  he  said  it 
would  be  to  hear  wise  men  discourse  upon  useful 
subjects.  He  is  always  cheerful,  but  seldom  merry; 
thoughtful,  but  not  dejected,  and  bears  his  mis- 
fortunes with  a  visible  magnanimity  of  spirit.  He 
frequents  the  public  devotions,  but  there  is  no  sort 
of  bigotry  about  him.  He  has  a  great  application 
to  business,  spends  much  time  in  his  closet,  and 
writes  much,  which  no  man  does  better  and  more 
succinctly.  His  criticalness  in  the  choice  of  words 
is  much  to  be  admired.  He  apprehends  readily, 
and  gives  the  direct  answer. 

"He  is  very  affable,  and  has  something  strangely 
engaging  in  his  voice  and  deportment,  that  none  who 
ever  converse  with  him  but  are  charmed  with  his 
good  sense  and  sweetness  of  temper.  Nor  can  any 
take  it  ill  even  when  he  grants  not  their  request,  for 

292 


CARDINAL   GUALTERIO   AGAIN 

he  always  gives  such  a  reason  as  must  satisfy.  Yet 
he  can  show  displeasure,  but  without  anger.  He 
expresses  no  resentment  at  the  cruel  proceedings  of 
the  last  Parliament,  to  leave  him  no  place  to  flee 
unto,  but  to  drive  him  like  the  scapegoat  unto  a 
land  not  inhabited,  with  all  the  sins  of  the  nation 
upon  his  head,  to  perish  in  the  most  miserable  man- 
ner, unpitied,  unrelieved.  Other  men  were  aston- 
ished, and  said,  for  what  all  this  rage  ?  What  has 
he  done  ?  Was  it  a  crime  to  him  to  be  born  ?  If 
his  birth  was  suppositious,  it  was  a  good  reason  in- 
deed to  bar  his  accession  to  the  throne,  but  none  to 
persecute  him  or  put  a  price  upon  his  head,  as  was 
proposed  in  Parliament  by  a  rich  and  powerful 
party  to  encourage  the  assassination  of  him." 

The  Cardinal  closed  the  book  of  his  memory  with 
a  slight  sigh.  He  had  no  need  to  reread  further. 
Here  was  the  portrait  of  an  excellent  gentleman, 
honest,  upright,  learned,  just,  filled  with  most  of  the 
private  and  many  of  the  public  virtues,  a  pattern 
and  example  of  many  merits,  but  not,  as  it  would 
seem,  the  kingdom-winner.  The  Cardinal  sighed 
again. 

But  the  Cardinal  was  thinking  of  other  figures, 
too,  that  for  the  moment  had  the  supreme  honor  of 
tickling  his  susceptibilities  far  more  than  any  king- 
claimant  could  hope  to  do.  It  was  only  a  few  days 
earlier  that  skittish  fortune  had  whisked  within  the 
gates  of  Bologna  city  the  most  whimsical  company 
of  adventurers  that  had  ever  tripped  across  her 

293 


THE   KING   OVER    THE    WATER 

threshold.  Four  fiery  Irish  paladins,  for  all  the 
world  like  the  four  sons  of  Aymon  in  the  ancient  tale, 
had  come  in  with  a  lovely  princess  in  their  midst, 
that  had  been  kept  in  prison  by  Caesar  of  Austria 
yonder,  that  she  might  not  marry  James  Stuart,  and 
that  had  been  liberated,  not  as  it  seems  without 
bloodshed,  by  the  same  four  fiery  Irish  paladins. 

The  Cardinal  recalled  his  conversation  with  the 
chief  of  these  same  paladins,  with  the  Chevalier 
Charles  Wogan,  when  the  Chevalier  Charles  Wogan 
made  bold  to  propose  his  astonishing  scheme.  The 
Cardinal  recalled  with  gratification  the  fact  that  he 
had  not  opposed  the  plan.  It  seemed  so  preposter- 
ous, so  ridiculous,  so  entirely  the  plan  of  a  madman, 
that  the  Cardinal  had  assumed  that  it  had  had  at 
least  a  creditable  chance  of  success,  and  gave  it  his 
blessing.  And  now  it  had  succeeded,  which  was 
great  credit  to  the  Chevalier  Wogan,  but  even,  all 
things  considered,  greater  credit  to  the  Cardinal 
Gualterio. 

Across  the  Cardinal's  musings  there  floated  the 
face  of  a  girl,  very  young,  very  beautiful,  very  valiant, 
very  debonair.  This  was  the  face  of  the  maid  that 
had  been  so  daring  to  break  prison  at  Innspruck 
and  ride  that  wild  ride,  with  four  Irish  gentlemen 
and  one  Irish  gentlewoman  for  her  escort,  to  join 
her  plighted  bridegroom,  King  James  the  Third,  in 
Italy.  The  shafts  of  the  lightning  of  irony  played 
now  about  the  theatre  of  the  Cardinal's  thoughts. 
He  surveyed  in  his  imagination  a  pair  standing  be- 

294 


CARDINAL   GUALTERIO   AGAIN 

fore  him  hand  in  hand,  a  woman  and  a  man;  the 
woman,  this  gallant,  adventurous  damsel,  brimmed 
with  the  brisk  spirits  of  youth  and  a  daring  tempera- 
ment; the  man,  the  precise,  thoughtful,  austere  per- 
sonage that  called  himself,  and  as  the  Cardinal 
judged  had  the  right  to  call  himself,  King  of  England. 
If  the  Cardinal  had  sighed  before  over  the  theme 
of  his  reflections,  now  he  allowed  himself  to  smile, 
and  almost  immediately  afterward  suffered  a  frown 
to  scatter  the  smile  from  his  countenance.  For,  in 
spite  of  himself,  in  that  theatre  of  his  mental  vision, 
he  still  saw  a  woman  and  a  man  standing  together 
side  by  side,  but  though  the  woman  was  the  same, 
the  man  was  not  the  same. 

The  Cardinal  could  have  wished  that  Providence 
in  its  wisdom  had  allowed  certain  things  to  happen 
otherwise  than  they  had  happened.  He  could  have 
wished  that  James  the  Third,  King  of  England,  Ire- 
land, Scotland,  and  France,  Defender  of  the  Faith, 
had  been  in  Bologna  to  receive  his  beautiful  bride 
that  had  been  so  gallantly  rescued  by  splendid  Irish 
gentlemen,  by  a  splendid  Irish  gentleman  in  particu- 
lar. He  could  have  wished  that  the  said  James  the 
Third  had  even  been  in  Italy,  to  hurry  swiftly  to 
the  presence  of  his  bride,  instead  of  being  untimely 
located  in  Spain.  It  was  true  that  the  Prince  was 
now  travelling  with  all  convenient  speed  to  Italy  and 
his  queen;  but  the  Cardinal  resented  his  absence; 
the  Cardinal  even  went  so  far  as  to  murmur  to  him- 
self a  hackneyed  French  proverb  which  begins 

295 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

with  the  words  Les  absents.  The  French  proverb 
did  not  accord  well  with  the  frenzy  of  Tertullian  as 
it  rippled  from  the  suave  lips  of  Eusebio.  The 
Cardinal  seemed  to  be  listening  to  Tertullian,  but 
in  fact  he  was  deaf  to  that  Father's  furies  and 
rages.  What  he  was  really  thinking  of  was  far  away 
from  the  invectives  of  the  great  enemy  of  Paganism. 
He  was  wondering  if  that  dim  and  distant  island 
which  was  called  Ireland  was  capable  of  producing 
many  men  of  the  temper  of  Charles  Wogan.  If  it 
were,  he  decided  that  it  must  have  a  great  future 
before  it. 


XXVII 

INTERLUDE 

THUS  the  Cardinal  dreamed  his  day-dreams, 
while  the  thunder  of  Tertullian  seemed  to 
hum  about  him  no  more  harmful  than  the  buzzing 
of  a  summer  fly.  From  the  garden  the  warm,  soft 
air  bore  its  exquisite  burden  of  perfume  to  pleasure 
his  sensitive  nostrils.  The  trembling  of  the  leaves 
was  like  the  murmuring  of  many  small,  sweet 
voices.  The  lapsing  of  the  fountain  made  a  distant, 
delicious  music.  All  the  world  of  that  Emilian 
spring  seemed  to  be  in  a  harmony  of  beauty,  and 
the  Cardinal  delighted  in  beauty  in  all  its  mani- 
festations. 

Presently  the  Cardinal  lifted  his  hand,  and  the 
secretary  stopped  reading  in  obedience  to  a  familiar 
signal.  The  Cardinal  sighed  a  little  sigh  of  satis- 
faction. "Thank  you,"  he  said;  "that  is  very  re- 
freshing and  stimulating.  Why  cannot  we  devote 
all  our  lives  to  the  study  of  the  early  Christian 
Fathers  ?" 

He  spoke  as  if  he  really  meant  what  he  said,  and 
if  the  secretary  had  been  a  stranger,  and  not  a 
familiar  of  many  years'  standing,  he  might  have  been 

297 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

inclined  to  take  the  Cardinal  at  his  word.  As  it 
was,  he  listened  with  an  impassive  countenance 
while  the  great  man  continued.  "  But  a  poor  prel- 
ate like  myself,"  he  said,  "has  duller  work  to  do. 
He  has  to  manage  the  affairs  of  Europe."  The 
Cardinal  gave  a  little  sigh  again,  this  time  a  sigh 
of  amused  dissatisfaction  with  his  lot,  and  he  pushed 
his  white  hands  with  apparent  fretfulness  among 
the  papers  in  front  of  him.  "So,  with  your  per- 
mission," he  went  on,  "we  will  take  Europe  in 
hand."  The  secretary  replaced  the  volume  of  Ter- 
tullian  on  the  shelf  that  ran  round  the  wall  and 
supported  a  goodly  store  of  noble  volumes  that 
were  not  all  theological. 

"As  your  Eminence  pleases,"  he  answered. 

The  Cardinal  shook  his  head  with  well-feigned 
impatience.  "It  is  not  at  all  as  my  Eminence 
pleases,"  he  protested.  "Who  am  I  that  I  should 
manage  or  mismanage  the  affairs  of  Europe  ?" 

The  secretary  bowed  discreetly.  "Your  Emi- 
nence is  a  master  mind,"  he  declared. 

The  Cardinal  smiled  faintly.  "I  hope  so,"  he 
said;  "indeed,  I  think  so;  but  there  are  others  who 
do  not."  He  shrugged  his  shoulders  as  he  spoke. 

The  secretary  was  accustomed  to  these  little, 
cheerful  demonstrations  on  the  Cardinal's  part.  He 
knew  that  the  Cardinal  was  too  complete  a  man 
ever  to  fail  to  keep  up  appearances  even  with  his 
most  intimate  companions.  "What  will  your  Emi- 
nence deal  with  first?"  he  asked.  "We  have  on 

298 


INTERLUDE 

our  hands  for  immediate  consideration,  in  the  first 
place,  Mistress  Jane  Gordon,  that  arrived  last  night, 
and,  in  the  second  place,  the  three  Irish  gentlemen, 
to  whom  your  Eminence  has  certain  important  news 


to  communicate." 


The  Cardinal  smiled  gracious  approval  of  the 
formality  of  his  secretary.  "Well,"  he  said,  "let 
us  reverse  the  proverb  and  take  first  pleasure  and 
then  business.  At  what  time  last  night  did  this 
young  lady,  Mistress  Jane  Gordon,  arrive  ?" 

"Very  late,  your  Eminence,"  Eusebio  answered. 
"  It  was  past  twelve  o'clock.  She  was  brought  here 
by  some  of  the  Duchess  of  Parma's  people.  The 
Duchess  herself  is  waiting  at  Parma  after  her  visit 
to  Innspruck,  but  will  come  on  here  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days  to  visit  her  Highness  and  your  Emi- 


nence." 


The  Cardinal  nodded  appreciation  of  his  secre- 
tary's words.  The  Duchess  of  Parma  was  a  sister 
of  the  Princess  Sobieski,  Clementina's  mother. 

Eusebio  continued :  "  I  conducted  the  young  lady 
at  once,  as  she  desired,  to  the  apartment  of  Mistress 
Misset.  As  the  hour  was  so  advanced,  I  did  not 
conceive  that  it  was  necessary  to  disturb  your 
Eminence." 

"There  you  did  right,  Eusebio,"  the  Cardinal 
answered, in  a  voice  of  profound  conviction.  "Sleep 
is  a  blissful  condition  which  should  not  be  lightly 
interrupted,  and  I  am  sure  the  charming  young  lady 
would  agree — for  I  make  no  doubt  she  is  charming — " 
20  299 


He  glanced  quickly  at  his  companion  as  he  spoke, 
and  the  secretary  answered  austerely:  "I  was 
scarcely  able  to  judge,  your  Eminence,  but  the  young 
lady  appeared  to  me  to  be  comely." 

"So  much  the  better,"  the  Cardinal  answered, 
delicately  applauding.  "Beauty  is  a  gift  of  the 
gods — of  Heaven,  I  mean,"  he  hastily  corrected  him- 
self, "and  should  be  always  welcomed.  The  young 
lady  will  by  now  be  recovered  from  the  fatigue  of 
the  journey.  Oblige  me,  Eusebio,  by  conveying 
word  to  her  that  if  it  would  suit  her  to  see  me  it 
would  suit  me  to  see  her.  Afterward  I  will  receive 
the  three  Irish  gentlemen." 

Eusebio  rose  respectfully  and,  going  to  the  door 
of  the  antechamber,  called  to  the  Cardinal's  second 
secretary,  Battista,  that  waited  there,  and  gave  him 
some  whispered  directions.  Meanwhile,  the  Cardi- 
nal sat  quietly  in  meditation,  a  pleasant  smile  on 
his  face. 

When  Eusebio  returned  the  Cardinal  beamed 
pleasantly  upon  his  penman.  "I  think,  Eusebio," 
he  said,  complacently  folding  his  fine  hands  to- 
gether, "this  business  of  his  Majesty's  marriage  has 
been  very  happily  handled." 

Eusebio  made  him  a  little  crisp  salutation  that 
suggested  perfect  acquiescence  tempered  with  a  sense 
of  humorous  appreciation  of  the  Cardinal's  fancy 
to  be  applauded.  "Everything  that  your  Eminence 
undertakes — "he  began, but  the  Cardinal,  who  knew 
the  kind  of  speech  that  was  coming,  cut  him  short. 

300 


INTERLUDE 

"Of  course,"  he  said,  calmly,  "I  know  perfectly 
well  that  I  am  a  very  clever  old  gentleman,  but  the 
laurels  of  this  business  are  for  no  other  brow  than 
that  of  the  Chevalier  Wogan.  I  am  a  somewhat 
portly  personage,  Eusebio,  but  I  swear  to  you  that 
I  could  have  skipped  for  joy  like  an  infant  when  he 
came  clattering  in  last  week  with  our  Princess 
Clementina  on  his  arm,  and  his  Irish  friends  behind 
him.  Ah!  those  Irish  are  a  wonderful  people." 

"The  Chevalier  Wogan,"  Eusebio  observed,  "is 
fortunate  to  be  privileged  to  serve  so  fair  a  lady." 

The  Cardinal  smiled,  admiring  the  picture  which 
his  secretary's  words  conjured  up.  "She  is  very 
fair,"  he  protested,  "our  runaway  heroine,  our 
divine,  daring,  dashing  Clementina.  She  would  have 
been  the  girl  for  me,  Eusebio,  if  she  had  had  the 
good  taste  to  live  fifty  years  earlier,  or  I  the  good 
taste  to  live  fifty  years  later."  The  Cardinal  paused, 
as  if  involved  in  his  reflections.  Then  he  directed  a 
quizzical  look  at  his  secretary,  and  spoke  again.  "I 
know  what  you  are  thinking,  Eusebio,"  he  said,  and 
he  laughed  gently  as  he  said  it. 

Eusebio,  who  was  not  thinking  of  anything  in 
particular,  hastened  to  lodge  his  eager  protest. 
"Indeed,  your  Eminence — "  he  began,  but  the 
good  Cardinal  did  not  give  him  time  to  go 
farther. 

"You  are  thinking,  you  rogue,"  he  insisted,  "that 
for  a  girl  so  fair  and  gay  and  gracious  his  Majesty 
the  King  of  England — who  is  not  King  of 

301 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

land  —  is  something  too  solemn  and  ponderous  a 
spouse." 

Eusebio  made  a  little  shocked  movement  of  pro- 
testation, uttered  a  little  shocked  protest  with  his 
lips.  "Indeed,  your  Eminence,"  he  asserted,  ear- 
nestly, "I  thought  no  such  thought." 

The  Cardinal  laughed  a  little  soft,  purring  laugh 
as  he  listened  to  his  henchman's  denegation. 
There  was  something  cat-like  about  him,  Eusebio 
admitted  to  himself,  as  he  sat  there  so  quiet,  so 
contented,  so  full  of  unexpressed  menace.  The 
Cardinal  blinked  amiably  at  his  secretary  for  a  few 
seconds;  then  he  spoke  with  a  tone  of  lazy  interest. 
"What  is  it,"  he  questioned,  "that  they  call  his 
Majesty  King  James  the  Third  of  England,  France, 
and  all  the  rest  of  it,  behind  his  august  back  ?" 

Eusebio  hesitated,  coughed  a  little  to  cover  his 
hesitation,  and  then,  seeing  that  the  Cardinal  desired 
an  answer,  answered.  "  I  believe,"  he  said,  diffident- 
ly, "that  indifferent  or  flippant  people  sometimes 
allude  to  him  as  Mr.  Melancholy." 

The  Cardinal  caught  at  the  arms  of  his  chair  with 
his  fine,  firm  fingers  and  laughed  almost  lustily. 
"There  you  are!"  he  cried.  "Mr. Melancholy  and 
Clementina.  Shadow  and  star-fire.  Dirge  and 
mirth.  Heaven  help  the  pair  of  them!  I  cannot; 
for  they  have  got  to  marry  and  establish  the  Stuart 
succession,  poor  fools!" 

Eusebio' s  embarrassment  at  the  Cardinal's  frank- 
ness was  here  happily  covered  by  the  entrance  into 

302 


INTERLUDE 

the  room  of  his  colleague  and  subordinate,  Battista, 
escorting  Mistress  Jane  Gordon.  Instantly,  at  a 
gesture  from  the  Cardinal,  the  two  young  men  retired 
into  the  antechamber,  leaving  the  churchman  alone 
with  the  girl. 

The  girl  was  looking  very  fair  and  gay  and  dainty, 
and  the  Cardinal  gave  her  a  look  of  frank  admira- 
tion as,  rising,  he  extended  his  hand  for  her  to  kiss. 
The  girl  did  so  rather  nervously,  but  the  Cardinal's 
gracious  manner  quickly  helped  to  set  her  at  her 
ease,  and  to  act  with  the  frankness  natural  to  her. 

"Welcome  to  Bologna  and  to  safety,  my  dear 
child,"  he  said;  "you  are  a  brave  girl  and  quite  a 
heroine  with  us,  I  assure  you/' 

Jane  flushed  with  pleasure  at  the  Cardinal's 
words,  but  she  affected  to  make  light  of  her 
adventures.  "Oh,  it  was  nothing,"  she  said, 
resolutely.  "I  was  really  in  no  great  danger  at 
Innspruck,  though  for  a  while  I  felt  pretty  un- 
comfortable." 

The  Cardinal  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and 
motioned  to  Jane  to  be  seated.  "Tell  me,"  he  said, 
amiably,  "what  happened  after  the  departure  of 
the  Princess  ?" 

Jane  began  to  laugh,  and  then,  suddenly  recollect- 
ing the  Cardinal's  presence,  pulled  herself  up  and 
looked  grave  again  as  befitted  a  heroine  of  a 
historical  episode.  "Oh,  there  was  the  rarest 
scene  in  the  morning,"  she  said.  "You  must 
know,  I  went  to  bed  very  early  and  slept  very  late, 

3°3 


and  no  pretence,  neither,  for  I  am  monstrous  fond 
of  sleep.  I  was  wakened  sometime  in  the  morning 
by  a  clatter  of  angry  feet  and  a  chatter  of  angry 
voices,  and  then  a  rude  man  that  was  the  Governor 
of  Innspruck  bounced  into  my  bedroom  in  a  tower- 
ing rage.  >  I  huddled  up  in  the  clothes,  but  he  stood 
on  no  ceremony  and  twisted  my  head  round  till 
he  saw  my  face.  Then  there  was  a  pother,  if  you 
like." 

"Why,  what  happened?"  asked  the  Cardinal, 
playfully  inquisitive. 

"Why,"  Jane  responded,  "I  had  to  dress  in  a 
great  hurry  and  go  down  and  be  questioned  by  the 
Governor  and  a  man  they  called  the  Prince  of  Nie- 
men  and  a  stiff  and  stupid  Englishman  named  Wyn- 
stock.  They  questioned  me,  but  I  could  tell  them 
nothing,  and  would  tell  them  nothing  except  that 
the  Princess  had  gone  away,  and  that  I  did  not 
know  why  she  had  gone  away  or  where  she  had 
gone  away.  Then  the  Prince  and  the  Englishman 
hurried  away,  as  I  guess,  in  pursuit  of  my  precious 
fugitives,  and  after  a  while  I  had  another  interview 
with  the  Governor,  who  bullied  me  very  brutally 
for  a  bit,  and  threatened  to  do  all  sorts  of  terrible 
things  to  me." 

Jane  colored  very  prettily  as  she  remembered 
General  Heister's  menaces,  and  for  a  moment  she 
made  a  mask  of  her  lifted  hands  to  hide  her  blush- 
ing face,  while  she  peeped  at  the  Cardinal  through 
parted  fingers.  The  Cardinal  smiled  sympatheti- 

304 


INTERLUDE 

cally  and  ironically.     Jane  dropped  her  hands  and 
continued : 

"Just  in  the  very  thick  of  all  the  pother,  when 
every  beastly  Austrian  official  in  the  place  was 
doing  his  best  to  make  the  life  of  the  poor  Princess 
Sobieski  quite  unbearable,  who  should  turn  up  in 
the  nick  of  time  but  the  Duchess  of  Parma,  a  great 
lady  that  is  own  sister  to  the  Princess,  and  that 
was,  it  seems,  travelling  to  visit  her  after  a  sojourn 
to  Vienna.  Of  course,  the  Duchess  knew  nothing 
at  all  of  what  was  toward,  but  when  she  came  with 
all  her  state  and  retinue  she  knew  how  to  make 
herself  respected,  I  promise  you,  and  the  condition 
of  things  changed  very  quickly.  The  long  and  the 
short  of  it  was  that  the  Duchess  of  Parma  resolved 
to  go  on  to  Italy  after  a  day  with  her  sister  in  Inns- 
pruck,  and  her  influence  was  so  great  that  she 
persuaded  General  Heister  to  let  her  take  me  with 
her.  At  Parma,  where  she  halted  to  rest,  she 
graciously  sent  me  on,  and  here  I  am." 

The  Cardinal  smiled  approval.  "You  did  very 
well,'*  he  said,  "and  the  Princess  is  very  grateful 
to  you." 

Even  her  respect  for  an  illustrious  prince  did  not 
prevent  Jane  from  making  a  little  face  of  protest. 
"I  did  not  do  it  to  serve  the  Princess,  I  promise 
you,"  she  said. 

"No?"  the  Cardinal  commented,  slyly.  "Well, 
all  your  friends  are  here,  and  Monsieur  O'Toole  is 
a  man  any  woman  could  be  proud  of." 

3°5 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

Jane  raised  her  eyebrows  at  the  name  and  stared 
hard  at  the  Cardinal.  "O'Toole,  indeed!"  she 
said,  scornfully.  "What  has  that  booby  been  say- 
ing about  me  ?" 

"Booby!"  the  Cardinal  echoed  Jane's  offensive 
word  in  surprise,  while  he  uplifted  his  white  hands. 
"Alas!  poor  O'Toole.  He  lives  in  a  fool's  para- 
dise then." 

"A  fit  place  for  him,"  Jane  said,  tartly.  "I 
would  not  marry  him  if  he  walked  on  his  knees 
for  a  week  asking  me.  I  like  a  man  who  is  soft  of 
speech  and  quiet  of  carriage,  who  is  comely  and 
brave,  and  does  great  things  as  if  they  were  little 
things — "  She  paused  as  if  to  find  breath  for 
further  phrases  in  praise  of  her  ideal  man. 

The  Cardinal,  taking  advantage  of  her  halt,  inter- 
polated, speaking  slowly  as  if  thinking  aloud:  "The 
Chevalier  Wogan  is  undoubtedly  a  remarkable 
man." 

Jane  instantly  looked  confused  and  crimsoned 
whimsically.  "Who  said  a  word  about  Charles 
Wogan  ?"  she  asked,  sharply. 

"Well,  it  certainly  sounded — "  the  Cardinal  sug- 
gested, blandly,  leaving  much  to  the  imagination. 

"Oh,  very  well  then,"  Jane  retorted,  accepting 
fully  the  innuendo.  "I'm  not  ashamed  of  it. 
Charles  Wogan  has  always  been  the  prince  of  my 
dreams." 

"I  don't  wonder,"  the  Cardinal  said,  sympa- 
thetically. "  But  what  a  trial  to  marry  one's  ideal 

306 


INTERLUDE 

prince.  Only  think  of  it!"  He  held  up  his  hands 
in  horror  as  he  spoke.  "Always  to  be  on  one's  best 
behavior.  You  feel  inclined  to  lose  your  temper. 
You  must  not.  What  would  your  ideal  prince  think 
if  he  saw  you  with  a  cross  face  ?" 

"I  must  be  cross  sometimes,"  Jane  pleaded. 

But  the  Cardinal  was  not  to  be  persuaded  out  of 
his  argument.  "Not  before  the  prince,"  he  pro- 
tested. "What  an  existence!  It  would  be  like 
living  forever  in  court  clothes.  Imagine  your 
prince  seeing  you  in  curl-papers." 

Jane  involuntarily  put  her  hands  to  her  head  at 
the  idea.  "Mercy!"  she  cried. 

The  Cardinal  laughed  triumphantly.  "Aha! 
you  do  wear  them  then  ?"  he  exulted.  "Now,  what- 
ever your  ideal  prince  might  think,  I  am  sure  a 
lover  like  O'Toole  would  think  you  beautiful  in 
them." 

"I  certainly  can  do  what  I  like  with  O'Toole," 
Jane  admitted.  "And  I  know  very  well  I  can  do 
nothing  with  Charles  Wogan,  for  he  is  in  love — " 
She  paused. 

"  Indeed !  With  whom  ?"  the  Cardinal  ques- 
tioned, quickly,  as  if  he  hoped  by  quickness  to 
catch  Jane  unawares. 

Jane  hesitated.  "Oh,  with  somebody,"  she  said, 
at  length;  "somebody  whom  he  will  always  love." 

"Then,  in  that  case,"  the  Cardinal  asked,  "why 
not  think  kindly  of  our  poor  O'Toole  ?  He  would 
make  a  perfect  husband." 

307 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

"I  do  not  want  a  perfect  husband,"  Jane  began, 
restively,  but  the  Cardinal  interrupted  her. 

He  rose  with  that  air  of  quiet  command  which 
was  so  very  convincing  with  him  and  took  her  by 
the  hand.  "Now,  little  Jane,"  he  ordered,  tak- 
ing her  to  the  line  of  porphyry  pillars  and  indicating 
to  her  the  spaces  of  gracious  pleasances  that  lay 
beyond  them,  all  green  and  gold  and  many  colors, 
'  T  want  you  to  go  to  the  fountain  in  the  garden 
yonder  and  walk  seven  times  round  it,  or  eight 
times,  or  even  more,  until  I  send  for  you." 

Jane,  instantly  obedient,  stooped  and  kissed  the 
ring  on  the  Cardinal's  extended  hand  and  then  ran 
lightly  out  into  the  garden  and  disappeared  from 
view,  tripping  springily  into  the  sweet  distances. 

The  Cardinal,  left  alone,  touched  a  golden  bell 
on  his  table,  and  instantly  Eusebio  entered  the  room. 
The  Cardinal  turned  to  his  secretary.  "Now  for 
the  three  Irish  gentlemen,  Eusebio,"  he  ordered. 

"Shall  I  tell  them  to  come  ?"  Eusebio  questioned. 

The  Cardinal  gently  reproved  him  with  delicately 
lifted  eyebrows.  "Ask,  my  dear  Eusebio,  ask." 

Eusebio  bowed,  blushing  with  humiliation  at  the 
correction.  "Yes,  your  Eminence,"  he  said,  apolo- 
getically. 

Once  again  he  turned  to  the  antechamber  and 
gave  certain  whispered  instructions  to  Battista. 
Once  again  there  was  an  interval  of  expectation, 
an  interval  which  was  this  time  employed  by  the 
Cardinal,  not  in  conversation,  but  in  a  fit  of  medita- 

308 


INTERLUDE 

tion,  which  Eusebio  was  careful  to  respect.  Some 
ten  minutes  had  thus  passed  in  silence,  when  the 
door  of  the  antechamber  opened  anew  and  Battista, 
appearing,  ushered  into  the  Cardinal's  presence  the 
three  Irishmen  that  were  his  guests.  Gaydon, 
Misset,  and  O'Toole  each  in  turn  knelt  to  kiss  the 
Cardinal's  ring,  and  each  in  turn  was  quickly  mo- 
tioned to  an  erect  position  by  the  urbane  church- 
man. Then  a  glance  from  the  Cardinal  caused 
Eusebio  to  disappear,  and  the  Cardinal  was  left 
alone  with  the  adventurers. 

The  Cardinal  shone  on  the  three  soldiers  with  an 
air  of  great  benevolence.  His  fine  white  hands 
were  clasped  together,  and  he  leaned  back  in  his 
chair  with  the  air  of  a  complacent  schoolmaster 
about  to  confer  his  approbation  upon  deserving 
scholars. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "I  am  glad  to  tell  you 
that  by  advices  which  I  have  received  from  his 
Majesty  King  James  the  Third,  whom  Heaven 
preserve,  and  who  is  now  travelling  with  all  speed 
hither,  that  his  Majesty  has  been  pleased  in  his 
loving-kindness  to  such  faithful  subjects  as  you  have 
proved  yourselves  to  be  to  promote  each  of  you, 
as  well  as  your  leader,  Charles  Wogan,  to  a  higher 
military  rank  than  that  which  you  already  hold." 

The  Cardinal  paused  for  a  moment,  eying  with 
approval  the  satisfaction  of  his  hearers;  then  he 
continued  as  if  by  way  of  afterthought.  "It  is 
true  that  his  Majesty  is  not  at  present  in  command 

3°9 


of  any  army,  but  his  Majesty's  good  intentions  are 
significant." 

"God  save  the  King!"  ejaculated  OToole, 
sturdily. 

Gaydon  leaned  a  little  forward  and  spoke.  "It 
is  to  be  hoped,"  he  said,  "that  erelong  his  Majesty 
will  be  reviewing  his  own  troops  in  his  own  king- 
dom." 

"It  is  devoutly  to  be  hoped,"  the  Cardinal  replied. 
He  closed  his  eyes  for  a  moment,  as  if  to  consider  the 
probability,  then  he  opened  them  again  and  went 
on.  "I  have  further  to  inform  you  that  the  au- 
thorities of  Rome,  acting  on  the  advice  of  the  Holy 
Father,  have  decided  to  enroll  your  names  and 
the  name  of  your  companion  and  compatriot,  the 
Chevalier  Wogan,  on  the  golden  roll-call  of  Roman 
Senatorship.  You  are  indeed  fortunate  in  receiving 
this  signal  mark  of  favor,  which,  while  it  brings 
with  it  no  merely  worldly  advantage,  yet  is  surely  to 
be  held  beyond  price.  Wherever  you  go  hereafter, 
and  whatever  may  befall  you,  it  is  your  proud 
privilege  to  say  with  absolute  accuracy,  'Civis 
Romanus  sum1:  *I  am  a  Roman  citizen." 

O'Toole  slapped  his  leg  lustily.  "Sure,  there's 
a  kind  of  pride  in  it,  too!"  he  said. 

Misset  looked  pleased.  "I  am  certain,  your 
Eminence,"  he  said,  "that  when  I  was  parsing  my 
Cordery  at  school  I  never  dreamed  that  in  days  to 
come  I  should  have  the  right  to  call  myself  a  Roman 
Senator." 

310 


INTERLUDE 

"Well,  gentlemen,"  said  the  Cardinal,  affably, 
"  I  must  not  allow  myself  to  keep  you  from  enjoy- 
ing such  pleasures  as  Bologna  can  afford  to  its 
visitors.  You  deserve  and  you  need  all  the  relaxa- 
tion you  can  get  after  your  heroic  enterprise.  I 
trust  that  you  find  your  lodging  comfortable/' 

Gaydon  and  Misset  assured  his  Eminence  that 
they  had  been  well  cared  for  by  his  Eminence's 
household.  As  they,  after  due  genuflection,  quitted 
the  august  presence,  the  Cardinal  beckoned  to 
O'Toole,  that  was  the  last  to  pass  out,  and  detained 
him,  while  his  companions  disappeared.  O'Toole, 
amazed  at  this  unexpected  compliment,  gaped  at 
the  great  man,  who  smiled  at  him  with  a  smile 
that,  as  the  honest  soldier  could  not  help  thinking, 
had  a  faint  air  of  waggishness  in  it. 

"I  have  need  of  your  society  for  a  little  longer," 
he  said,  benignly. 

O'Toole  made  his  Eminence  a  most  noble  saluta- 
tion. "I  am  ever  at  your  Eminence's  service,"  he 
declared,  resonantly. 

The  Cardinal  looked  enigmatic.  "I  suppose 
you  know,"  he  said,  insinuatingly,  "that  a  certain 
young  lady  arrived  here  last  night." 

O'Toole's  large,  honest  face  became  the  color 
of  a  poppy.  "  I  would  not  deceive  your  Eminence 
for  the  world,"  he  declared.  "I  have  heard  that 
same." 

"But,  as  I  think,"  the  Cardinal  continued,  "you 
have  not  yet  seen  her  ?" 

3" 


THE   KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

O'Toole  shook  his  head  and  looked  gloomy  in 
spite  of  his  crimson  cheeks.  "I  have  not,"  he  ad- 
mitted. He  paused  for  a  minute,  and  then  went 
on  in  a  burst  of  confidential  candor.  "You  see,  it 
is  this  way,  your  Eminence:  I  have  a  mighty  fine 
fancy  for  the  girl,  but  she  has  mighty  little  fancy 
for  me,  or  no  fancy  at  all,  maybe,  and  the  last  time 
that  I  saw  her  she  made  it  plain  that  she  thought 
no  more  of  me  than  of  the  dirt  beneath  her  feet. 
So  I  do  not  see  what  good  it  would  be  for  either  of 
us,  anyway,  my  seeing  her  again." 

"Major  O'Toole,"  said  the  Cardinal,  approving- 
ly, and  conferring  upon  him  the  title  which  had 
just  been  announced,  "you  speak  very  wisely, 
which,  indeed,  is  no  other  than  fitting  on  the  part 
of  a  man  that  has  the  right  to  call  himself  a  Roman 
Senator.  But  even  a  Roman  Senator  does  not  al- 
ways understand  a  woman,  and  if  I  were  in  your 
place,  as  indeed,  my  dear  man,  I  heartily  wish  I 
were,  I  think  I  should  try  my  luck  again." 

He  eyed  the  giant  with  patent  admiration  as  he 
spoke.  Perhaps,  indeed,  he  did  think  not  un- 
regretfully  of  the  days  when  he  could  use  sword 
and  woo  girl  with  the  best. 

O'Toole  stared  at  him.  "Your  Eminence — "  he 
began,  but  the  Cardinal  interrupted. 

"Will  you  kindly  go,"  he  commanded,  "toward 
yonder  terrace  and  tell  me  what  you  see  in  the 
garden  ?" 

O'Toole  obediently  advanced  toward  the  pillars 
312 


INTERLUDE 

of  porphyry  and  peeped  through  them.  What  he 
saw  was  a  glorious  garden,  and  some  little  distance 
off  a  fountain  with  a  large  basin,  and  round  that 
basin  Jane  Gordon  walking  briskly. 

"If  I  were  you,"  counselled  the  voice  of  the 
Cardinal,  from  behind  him,  "I  should  go  into  the 
garden  and  talk  with  that  young  lady.  Remember 
that  you  are  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  adventure  of 
Innspruck;  remember  also  that  you  are  a  major 
in  rank,  and  a  Roman  Senator;  remember  further 
that  you  have  my  blessing.  If  you  succeed  in 
your  suit  bring  the  lady  back  with  you,  and  she, 
too,  shall  gain  my  benediction/' 

O'Toole  turned  and  stammered  some  words  of 
grateful  thanks  as  he  knelt  and  kissed  the  Cardinal's 
extended  hand.  Then  he  rose,  and  with  a  look  of 
puzzled  desperation  passed  through  the  porphyry 
pillars  on  to  the  terrace,  and  so  into  the  green  and 
gracious  garden. 

The  Cardinal  shifted  his  chair  to  a  position  which 
commanded  a  view  of  the  garden  and  its  occupants. 
Here  was  a  little  snatch  of  comedy  that  it  amused 
him  to  witness. 


XXVIII 

A   FORM   OF   SURRENDER 

O'TOOLE  went  across  the  soft  grass  and  the 
smooth  paths  in  the  direction  of  the  fountain. 
It  seemed  to  him  that  he  was  walking  in  a  dream 
in  which  he  was  obeying  the  dictates  of  a  stronger 
will  than  his  own.  As  he  reached  the  great  marble 
basin  that  cupped  the  fountain  Jane  heard  his 
footsteps  and  turned  and  recognized  him.  O'Toole 
went  toward  her,  calling  her  by  her  name. 

Jane  made  a  wry  face.  "Oh,  it's  you  ?"  she  said, 
and  the  tone  of  her  voice  did  not  seem  propitious, 
but  O'Toole,  inspired  by  the  counsels  of  the 
Cardinal,  made  bold  to  hold  his  own. 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  "it's  me,  and  yet  it  is  not 
me,  if  you  understand  my  meaning." 

Jane  stared  at  him  and  shook  her  head  vehe- 
mently in  denial  of  all  understanding.  "What  are 
you  talking  about  ?"  she  asked,  querulously. 

O'Toole  tapped  himself  on  the  chest.  *  It's  the 
changed  man  I  am,"  he  asserted. 

Jane  rubbed  her  hands  together  maliciously  and 
looked  pleased.  "That's  no  bad  hearing,"  she  said, 

3H 


A   FORM   OF   SURRENDER 

significantly,  but  the  significance  was  lost,  or 
seemed  to  be  lost,  upon  O'Toole. 

"And  I  only  knew  it  this  morning,  Jane,"  he 
went  on,  enthusiastically;  "they  have  made  me  a 
Roman  Senator." 

Jane  shrugged  her  shoulders.  "What  is  the  good 
of  that  ?"  she  said. 

O'Toole  held  up  his  hands  in  astonishment. 
"Good  of  it?"  he  repeated.  "Listen  to  the  dear 
simpleton.  Sure  it  sticks  me  in  the  same  catalogue 
with  Julius  Caesar,  and  Numa  Pompilius,  and 
Heaven  knows  who  else  besides.  Wherever  I  go, 
and  whatever  may  happen  to  me,  I  can  always  place 
my  hand  proudly  on  my  chest  and  say,  'Civis 
Romanus  sum."' 

Jane  cocked  her  head  on  one  side  and  looked  at 
him  ironically.  "What  does  it  mean  when  you 
have  said  it  ?"  she  asked. 

O'Toole  explained.  "It  means,*!  am  a  Roman 
citizen/  It  signifies  that  I  have  the  right,  if  I 
like,  to  go  about  with  a  toga  on  my  shoulders  and 
sandals  on  my  bare  feet." 

Jane  laughed  derisively.  "A  pretty  figure  of 
fun  you  would  cut!"  she  asserted. 

"Do  you  like  me  better  as  I  am?"  O'Toole 
asked,  insinuatingly. 

Jane  shook  her  head  more  determinedly  than 
ever.  "I  don't  like  you  at  all,"  she  persisted. 

O'Toole' s  tone  of  insinuation  turned  to  one  of 
vehement  entreaty.  "Ah!  don't  say  that,  Jane," 
21  315 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

he  appealed;  "for  love's  sake  don't  say  that.  Sure 
you  must  find  it  in  your  heart  to  like  me  a  little, 
me  that  loves  you  so  much/' 

Jane  eyed  him  quizzically.  "How  much  do  you 
love  me  ?"  she  questioned. 

O'Toole  stretched  out  his  arms  as  if  he  were 
endeavoring  to  embrace  the  whole  world,  and  Jane 
included.  "How  much  do  I  love  you,  is  it?"  he 
asked.  "Sure  I  don't  think  there  can  be  any  love 
left  in  the  world,  I've  taken  so  much  of  it  to  lay 
at  your  darling  feet.  Jane,  my  angel,  do  say  that 
you  like  me  a  little  ?" 

Jane  frowned.  "Is  it  telling  lies  you'd  be  having 
me  ?"  she  said,  sourly. 

O'Toole  came  a  little  nearer  to  her.  "I  want 
you,"  he  said,  softly,  "to  tell  me  the  truth,  and  I 
want  that  same  truth  to  be  that  you  like  me  a  little, 
and  maybe  more  than  a  little." 

Jane  made  a  grimace.  "Oh,  I  like  you  well 
enough  when  you're  not  by,"  she  admitted. 

O'Toole  shook  a  finger  at  her  reproachfully. 
"Now  that's  a  hard  saying,"  he  said,  "for  it's  my 
delight  in  life  to  be  by  your  side.  Can't  I  persuade 
you  to  like  my  company  a  little  ?" 

In  spite  of  herself,  Jane  allowed  her  face  to  soften 
somewhat.  "Well,"  she  said,  hesitatingly,  "per- 
haps a  little,  just  a  very  little."  Then  as  she  noticed 
that  her  slight  encouragement  seemed  to  suggest 
an  immediate  attack  on  the  part  of  her  wooer,  she 
thrust  out  her  hands  to  hold  him  back.  "Now, 

316 


A    FORM    OF   SURRENDER 

keep  off,"  she  commanded;  "keep  your  distance,  or 
you'll  be  asking  me  to  kiss  you  next/' 

O'Toole  stood  still.  "I've  got  something  else 
to  ask  you  first,"  he  said,  gravely;  "I've  got  to  ask 
you  if  you  could  ever  like  me  well  enough  to  con- 
sent to  be  my  wife  ?" 

Jane  looked  at  her  lover  with  well-assumed  as- 
tonishment. "Now  what  will  the  man  be  asking 
next  ?"  she  asked. 

"I'll  tell  you  that,"  O'Toole  answered,  "when 
you've  answered  me  this." 

"What?"  Jane  questioned. 

O'Toole  held  out  his  hands  appealingly.  "Jane, 
precious  Jane,  will  you  marry  me  ?" 

Jane  shook  her  head;  then  she  spoke.  "Oh,  I 
don't  know,"  she  said.  "You  are  not  a  bit  the 
husband  I'd  imagined.  Would  you  let  me  have 
my  own  way  in  everything  ?" 

"Of  course,"  O'Toole  answered,  promptly. 

"And  do  exactly  as  I  tell  you?"  the  girl  con- 
tinued. 

"Yes,"  O'Toole  said,  emphatically. 

"And  love  and  dote  on  me  forever?"  Jane  went 
on.  "And  think  me  the  loveliest  woman  on  earth, 
and  the  sweetest  and  best  tempered  ?" 

"Why,  of  course,"  O'Toole  protested,  cheerfully. 

"Well — then — "  Jane  hesitated,  then  suddenly 
seemed  to  become  firm.  "No,  I  don't  think  I  can 
marry  you,"  she  asserted. 

"That  means  you  will,"  O'Toole  shouted,  joy- 

3<7 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

fully,  and  before  Jane  could  divine  his  intention 
he  had  caught  her  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her. 

In  a  moment  she  extricated  herself.  "  Oh,  take 
that!'*  she  said,  and  gave  him  a  lusty  slap  on  the 
cheek  with  the  palm  of  her  hand.  Instantly  she 
ran  off  into  the  deeps  of  the  garden,  with  O'Toole 
in  hot  pursuit.  Apparently,  however,  the  pursuit 
was  neither  a  long  nor  a  stern  one,  for  in  a  few 
minutes  the  watchful  Cardinal  saw  the  pair  emerge 
from  the  boscage  arm  in  arm,  and  apparently  very 
well  contented  with  each  other.  They  passed  the 
dancing  fountain;  they  crossed  the  smooth  paths 
and  the  soft  grass,  and  they  came  into  the  presence 
of  the  Cardinal  and  fell  on  their  knees  before  him. 

"Will  your  Eminence,"  said  O'Toole, boldly, "be 
pleased  to  give  your  blessing  to  this  bold  girl  that 
is  going  to  be  my  wife,  Mistress  Major  O'Toole  no 
less,  and  a  Roman  Senatoress  by  the  same  token  ?" 

The  Cardinal,  smiling  like  a  gratified  child, 
preached  them  a  short  homily  on  marriage  that 
seemed  somehow  quite  unlike  what  any  one  else 
would  have  thought  of  preaching,  but  which  was 
very  tender  and  pleasant  and  penetrating  to  hear. 

"We  have  all,"  he  said,  in  conclusion,  "in  the 
lives  we  leave  behind  us  on  the  threshold  of  this 
coming  sacrament  things  that  we  regret  because 
they  did  happen,  and  things  we  regret  because 
they  did  not  happen." 

Jane's  cheeks  reddened  as  she  listened.  O'Toole 
nodded  his  honest  head  with  all  the  greater  air  of 


A    FORM    OF   SURRENDER 

wisdom  because  he  did  not  in  the  least  take  the 
Cardinal's  meaning. 

The  Cardinal  continued:  "Such  things,  per- 
haps, it  may  neither  be  possible  nor  well  for  us  to 
forget,  but  it  were  wise  not  to  remember  them  too 
frequently  or  too  keenly." 

Thereupon  he  gave  the  pair  his  blessing  and  dis- 
missed them,  telling  them  to  carry  the  happy  news 
to  Mistress  Misset.  When  they  had  gone  the 
Cardinal  touched  his  bell  and  Eusebio  returned  to 
the  room.  The  Cardinal  looked  at  his  secretary 
with  a  smile. 

"My  good  Eusebio,"  he  said,  "it  is  really  not  so 
difficult  as  it  seems  to  manage  humanity.  In  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  if  you  suggest  a  thing  to  an  in- 
dividual, man  or  woman,  in  the  right  way,  he  or 
she  will  act  upon  the  suggestion." 

Eusebio  could  venture  to  trifle  with  the  Cardinal 
when  he  was  in  this  light  humor.  "Would  it  be 
effective,"  he  asked,  slyly,  "if  I  were  to  suggest  to 
your  Eminence  that  he  should  double  my  salary  ?" 

The  Cardinal  shook  his  head  briskly.  "That," 
he  said,  decisively,  "would  not  be  the  right  way, 
my  good  Eusebio." 


XXIX 

THE    PRINCE    IN    PURSUIT 

THE  Cardinal  settled  himself  comfortably  in 
his  chair.  "My  good  Eusebio,"  he  said,  "I 
expect  presently  to  have  a  little  conversation  with 
the  head  of  these  wild,  delightful  Irishmen." 

"Your  Eminence,"  observed  Eusebio, sagaciously, 
"means  the  Chevalier  Wogan." 

The  Cardinal  smiled  upon  Eusebio  as  Ferdinand 
of  Aragon  might  have  smiled  upon  Columbus  when 
he  informed  that  monarch  of  the  discovery  of  a  new 
world. 

"My  son,"  he  said,  very  paternally,  "you  are  in 
the  right  of  it.  I  wish  to  give  the  Chevalier  a  special 
audience  in  order  to  inform  him  of  the  honor  which 
has  been  paid  him  by  the  Roman  Senate.  Of 
course,  he  knows  all  about  it  already,  but  I  always 
desire  to  observe  due  formalities." 

Eusebio  smiled  a  chaste  approval  of  the  Cardinal's 
punctilio.  The  Cardinal,  ignoring  the  smile,  con- 
tinued : 

"I  have  asked  her  Highness  to  favor  me  with  an 
interview  at  about  the  same  time.  I  wish,  for  cer- 
tain reasons,  that  her  Highness  and  my  Irishman 

320 


THE   PRINCE   IN   PURSUIT 

should  meet  here.  They  have  scarcely  met  in 
private  since  their  arrival,  I  believe." 

Eusebio  confirmed  the  Cardinal's  belief.  "Her 
Highness  has  had  no  private  interview  with  the 
Chevalier  Wogan  since  her  arrival." 

The  Cardinal  rubbed  his  hands  approvingly. 
"Good!"  he  approved.  "Good!"  He  rustled 
among  the  papers  in  front  of  him.  "My  latest 
advices  from  King  James  report  him  at  Rome.  I 
expect  further  news  to-day." 

"If  I  were  his  Majesty,"  Eusebio  hazarded,  "I 
would  travel  fast  with  such  a  bride  awaiting  me." 

The  Cardinal  nodded  agreement.  He  took  up 
a  pen  and  began  to  write,  and  Eusebio  busied  him- 
self with  his  own  work.  Presently  the  private  door 
opened  and  Battista  came  into  the  room,  and,  ad- 
vancing toward  Eusebio,  whispered  a  few  words 
into  his  ear.  Eusebio  addressed  the  Cardinal. 
"His  Highness  the  Prince  of  Niemen,"  he  said, 
"requests  the  honor  of  an  interview  with  your 
Eminence." 

The  Cardinal  brought  the  tips  of  his  fingers  to- 
gether and  looked  thoughtfully  at  his  secretary. 
"What,"  he  said,  innocently,  "do  we  know  about 
this  Prince  of  Niemen  ?" 

Eusebio  gave  the  explanation  which  he  knew  to 
be  unnecessary.  "The  Prince  of  Niemen,"  he  said, 
"is  the  individual  whom  the  British  Government 
chose  to  marry  the  Princess  Clementina." 

The  Cardinal  nodded  his  head.  "True,  true!'* 
321 


THE   KING   OVER    THE    WATER 

he  commented.  "Well,  we  cannot  always  have 
what  we  want  in  this  world,  not  even  German 
princes  and  British  governments.  You  may  admit 
the  gentleman." 

Eusebio  made  a  gesture  to  Battista,  who  quitted 
the  room.  Then  the  Cardinal  beckoned  to  Eusebio 
and  instructed  him  in  a  whisper — principally,  as  it 
would  seem,  because  there  was  not  the  slightest  oc- 
casion to  whisper — to  seek  out  the  Chevalier  Wogan 
at  once  and  to  bring  him  immediately  to  audience, 
as  he  had  no  doubt  that  the  visit  of  the  Prince  of 
Niemen  had  something  to  do  with  the  affair  of  Inns- 
pruck  and  the  flight  of  Clementina.  When  Wogan 
was  in  the  antechamber  Eusebio  was  to  knock 
three  times  at  the  door,  and  then  if  the  Cardinal 
summoned  him  was  to  admit  the  Chevalier. 
Eusebio  nodded  and  disappeared.  The  Cardinal, 
left  alone,  smiled  the  smile  of  a  man  who  has  so 
arranged  his  changes  in  some  game  of  speculation 
that  whatever  happens  he  stands  to  win.  A  few 
moments  later  Battista  returned  and  introduced 
the  Prince  of  Niemen,  who  made  a  profound  saluta- 
tion to  the  Cardinal.  Then  Battista  retired,  leaving 
the  Prince  and  the  Cardinal  alone  together. 

The  Cardinal  smiled  amiably  upon  his  visitor. 
"How  can  we  serve  your  Highness?"  he  asked, 
benignly. 

Niemen  immediately  answered  by  another  ques- 
tion. "I  suppose,"  he  said,  "your  Eminence  may 
guess  why  I  am  here  ?" 

322 


THE    PRINCE   IN    PURSUIT 

The  Cardinal  shook  his  head.  "I  never  guess/' 
he  stated,  quietly,  "I  know.  You  come  because 
you  are  vexed  at  the  loss  of  your  promised  bride." 

Niemen' s  face  flushed  angrily.  The  affable  com- 
posure of  the  Cardinal  seemed  to  be  irritating  to 
him.  "Princess  Clementina  was  promised  to  me," 
he  complained.  "You  wish  her  to  marry  James 
Stuart." 

The  Cardinal  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "What 
have  my  wishes  to  do  with  the  matter  ?"  he  asked. 
"The  Princess  wishes  it;  King  James  wishes  it." 

Niemen  protested  vehemently.  "  King  James,  as 
you  call  him,  would  not  wish  it  long  if  he  knew  what 
I  know." 

The  Cardinal  looked  mildly  surprised.  "In- 
deed!" he  said. 

"Your  Eminence,"  Niemen  continued,  "has  in- 
fluence enough  to  stop  this  marriage  if  you  choose. 
Stop  the  marriage  and  I  hold  my  tongue." 

Again  the  Cardinal  shook  his  head.  "I  do  not 
understand,"  he  declared,  blandly.  "Why  should 
your  Highness  hold  his  tongue  ?  I  have  no  desire 
to  check  its  utterance." 

Niemen  came  a  little  nearer  to  the  table  at  which 
the  Cardinal  was  sitting,  and  resting  his  hand  on  it, 
leaned  over  and  spoke  slowly.  "If  I  speak  what  I 
think,"  he  said,  "if  I  speak  what  I  know,  the  mar- 
riage will  never  take  place." 

The  Cardinal  did  not  seem  to  be  much  impressed 
by  the  earnestness  of  the  Prince.  "Then,  I  hope," 

323 


he  said,  calmly,  "you  will  not  speak  what  you  think 
—or  know." 

"That,"  Niemen  asserted,  truculently,  suddenly 
flushed  with  the  hope  of  bullying  this  easy-going 
ecclesiastic  into  acquiescence  with  his  wishes — 
"that  depends  entirely  upon  you.  You  know  as 
well  as  I  do  that  James  Stuart  will  never  be  King 
of  England.  Therefore,  this  marriage  of  his  can 
be  of  no  moment  to  you.  You  can  stop  it  privately. 
I  can  do  it  publicly.  It  is  for  you  to  decide." 

The  Cardinal  paused  in  what  appeared  to  be 
an  interested  study  of  the  palms  of  his  plump,  white 
hands.  He  lifted  his  head  and  surveyed  his  visitor 
with  an  air  of  mild  surprise.  "Your  Highness," 
he  said,  in  'a  tone  of  gentle  reproof,  "singularly 
misunderstands  me  if  he  believes  that  I  claim  to 
have  the  power  of  deciding  any  matter  on  this 
planet  that  is  not  governed  by  human  laws." 

He  seemed  to  be  about  to  say  more,  but  at  that 
instant  his  ear  caught  the  sound  of  three  gentle 
taps  at  the  private  door.  He  looked  at  the  Prince 
of  Niemen  with  something  like  a  twinkle  in  his 
eye. 

"It  is  not  for  me  to  decide  anything,"  he 
affirmed,  and  then  he  touched  his  golden  bell. 

As  he  spoke  Eusebio  appeared  in  the  doorway, 
but  the  Cardinal  made  him  a  sign,  and  the  secre- 
tary disappeared.  The  Cardinal  turned  again  to 
the  Prince.  "Forgive  me,"  he  said,  "if  I  interrupt 
our  interesting  conversation  for  a  moment."  He 

324 


THE    PRINCE    IN   PURSUIT 

sat  for  a  few  seconds  looking  steadily  at  Niemen 
with  an  inscrutable  expression  on  his  face. 

The  silence  was  broken  by  the  entrance  of  Wogan, 
who  could  not  restrain  a  look  of  astonishment  when 
he  saw  the  Prince  of  Niemen  standing  before  him 
in  the  Cardinal's  presence,  with  a  sinister  smile  upon 
his  unamiable  face.  As  Wogan  stared  at  him  the 
Prince  spoke. 

"I  suppose,"  he  said,  "you  are  surprised  to  see 
me  here,  my  dear  Chevalier,  but  the  roads  of  Italy 
are  as  free  to  me  as  to  another,  and  if  it  pleases  my 
fancy  to  travel  to  Bologna,  I  take  it  that  you  will 
scarcely  make  any  objection  to  my  doing  so." 

Wogan  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "Your  move- 
ments, your  Highness,"  he  said,  "are  of  no  concern 
to  me  since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  baffling  you  at 
Castel-Falcone.  You  can  do  no  harm  now,  and 
the  only  favor  I  should  ask  of  you  is  that  which 
Diogenes  requested  of  Alexander,  to  stand  out  of 
my  sunlight." 

The  Prince  laughed  disagreeably.  "Really, 
Chevalier,"  he  said,  "I  think  you  underrate  my 
powers  of  doing  harm.  Are  you  vain  enough  to 
fancy  that  because  you  succeeded  in  interfering 
with  my  plans  awhile  back  I  am  incapable  of  in- 
terfering with  your  plans  to-day  ?" 

Wogan  looked  at  the  Prince  with  a  certain  quick- 
ened curiosity.  The  man,  as  he  stood  there,  his 
evil  face  troubled  by  an  evil  smile,  seemed  such  a 
baleful  presence  that  Wogan  felt  a  physical  re- 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

pulsion  at  the  sight.  He  was  not  alarmed  by  the 
menaces  of  the  man,  but  he  was  curious  to  know 
what  those  menaces  might  mean. 

"I  should  never,"  he  replied,  coldly,  "for  a  mo- 
ment question  your  Highness' s  desire  to  injure 
those  whom  you  consider  your  enemies,  but  I  very 
much  question  your  power  to  do  so  at  this  present." 

The  Prince  laughed  again  softly  to  himself.  He 
seemed  like  one  that  savors  a  secret  joke  and  lingers 
over  it  lovingly  in  thought,  unwilling  to  share  his 
satisfaction  with  another.  "Chevalier,"  he  said, 
sneeringly,  "did  you  ever  hear  the  story  of  Francesca 
of  Rimini  ?" 

Wogan  shook  his  head.  He  knew  little  of  Italian 
literature,  little  of  Italian  history.  His  own  busy 
time  absorbed  all  his  interests. 

The  Prince  proceeded  to  explain:  "Francesca 
of  Rimini  was  a  beautiful  girl  who  lived  many  cen- 
turies ago.  She  was  sought  in  marriage  by  a  great 
prince,  who  sent  as  his  ambassador  a  comely  youth. 
The  fair  lady  fell  in  love  with  the  comely  youth, 
and  the  comely  youth  fell  in  love  with  the  fair  lady. 
Between  them  they  played  the  great  prince  false, 
and  the  matter  ended  in  tragedy." 

Wogan  began  to  have  some  idea  now  of  what  the 
Prince  would  be  at.  "Well,"  he  said,  slowly, 
"what  has  your  story  to  do  with  me  ?" 

"History,"  said  the  Prince,  significantly,  "has  a 
way  of  repeating  itself.  I  think  I  have  heard  very 
lately  of  a  great  prince  who  sent  a  comely  young 

326 


THE    PRINCE    IN    PURSUIT 

gentleman  as  his  envoy  to  the  lovely  lady  his  High- 
ness was  a-wooing.  It  would  be,  I  think,  the  busi- 
ness of  a  true  friend  of  that  prince  to  tell  him  the 
story  of  Francesca  of  Rimini."  He  turned  to  the 
Cardinal.  "Does  not  your  Eminence  agree  with 
me  ?"  he  questioned. 

Wogan  also  looked  at  the  Cardinal,  who  had  been 
following  the  conversation  of  the  pair  with  an 
amused  smile.  He  spoke  now,  not  to  Niemen,  but 
to  Wogan.  "My  poor  Chevalier,"  he  said,  "it 
seems  that  all  your  efforts  have  been  in  vain,  and 
your  rescue  of  the  Princess  useless." 

Wogan  looked  from  the  Cardinal  to  the  Prince, 
and  from  the  Prince  to  the  Cardinal,  dreading  the 
danger  he  guessed. 

The  Cardinal  indicated  the  Prince  by  an  inclina- 
tion of  his  head.  "This  gentleman,"  he  said,  "in- 
tends to  stop  the  royal  marriage  by  some  mysterious 
means." 

"Not  mysterious,"  Niemen  said,  insolently. 
"Your  King  James  will  hardly  welcome  a  bride 
already  soiled  ere  she  reach  him.  This  fellow  has 
been  too  much  for  her  maidenhood." 

Wogan  instantly  made  a  movement  toward  the 
Prince,  a  movement  which  the  lifted  hand  of  the 
Cardinal  immediately  checked.  "You  lie!"  he 
said. 

The  Cardinal  looked  at  the  Prince.  "Indeed, 
Prince,"  he  said,  "I  hope  and  believe  that  you  are 
lying." 

327 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

Niemen  struck  the  table  with  his  closed  fist. 
"They  love  each  other,"  he  protested.  "By  God! 
they  love  each  other.  You  have  only  to  look  at 
them." 

The  Cardinal  stroked  his  chin.  "Your  High- 
ness is  observant,"  he  said,  quietly. 

Niemen  pointed  fiercely  at  Wogan.  "Look  at 
the  man!"  he  cried.  "Ask  the  man!  He  cannot 
deny  it!" 

There  was  a  moment's  silence.  Then  Wogan 
addressed  the  Cardinal.  "Have  I,"  he  asked, 
calmly, "your  Eminence's  permission  to  speak  with 
some  frankness  to  his  Highness  ?" 

"Certainly,"  the  Cardinal  answered,  with  an  air 
of  cordial  approval. 

Wogan  advanced  toward  Niemen.  "Your  High- 
ness," he  said,  "wears  his  cravat  in  a  damned  ill- 
conditioned  way." 

As  he  spoke  he  caught  Niemen  by  his  lace  cravat, 
unfastening  it,  and  swung  him  a  little  this  way  and 
that,  then  gave  him  a  push  that  sent  him  staggering 
across  the  room. 

"Damn  you!"  Niemen  screamed,  and  put  his 
hand  to  his  sword. 

The  Cardinal  rose  to  his  feet.  "Gentlemen, 
gentlemen,"  he  said,  softly,  "a  difference  of  opin- 
ion on  so  delicate  a  question  as  dress  can  only  be 
settled  by  consultation  with  one's  friends.  In  the 
days  before  I  became  a  humble  and  unworthy  mem- 
ber of  the  church  I  lived  a  carnal  life  and  was,  as  J 

325 


THE   PRINCE   IN   PURSUIT 

recall,  very  particular  about  the  nicety  of  my 
apparel.  I  am  sure  that  if  any  person  had  pre- 
sumed to  question  the  accuracy  of  my  taste  in 
cravats  I  should,  being  then  unregenerate,  have 
insisted  on  the  satisfaction  that  one  man  of  honor 
who  considers  himself  an  authority  upon  dress  would 
naturally  demand  of  another  man  of  honor  who 
also  considers  himself  an  authority  upon  dress. 
That  was  in  my  unregenerate  days.  I  hope,  my 
friends,  that  you  two  cherish  no  such  foolish 
punctiliousness  about  a  question  of  personal  adorn- 
ment. But  if  you  do,  there  is  still  so  much  of  the 
old  Adam  in  me  as  compels  me  to  suggest  that  there 
is  a  very  pleasant  meadow,  just  beyond  the  Campo 
Santo,  where  any  little  trifling  dispute  of  this  kind 
could  be  most  comfortably,  quietly,  and  privately 
adjusted." 

Niemen  looked  from  the  smiling  face  of  the 
Cardinal  to  the  scornful  face  of  Wogan.  "I  have 
not  the  slightest  unwillingness,"  he  said,  "to  rid 
the  world  of  this  Irish  adventurer  if  your  Eminence 
wishes  it." 

The  Cardinal  shook  his  head  vigorously.  "I 
wish  you  both  to  shake  hands  and  be  friends  for 
life,"  he  protested,  "but  as  I  see  little  prospect  of 
so  desirable  a  conclusion  to  a  trivial  altercation,  I 
can  do  no  better  than  leave  the  matter  in  your  own 
hands."  He  touched  the  golden  bell,  and  Eusebio 
entered  the  room.  "Summon  Battista,"  the  Car- 
dinal commanded. 

329 


THE    KING   OVER   THE  WATER 

When  Battista  appeared  the  Cardinal  gravely 
presented  his  two  secretaries  to  the  Prince  of  Nie- 
men  as  gentlemen  of  the  noble  Italian  blood  that 
honored  him  by  their  aid,  and  that  would  be  de- 
lighted to  second  the  Prince,  as  a  stranger  in  the 
town,  with  any  help  they  could  give  toward  the 
solution  of  the  great  problem  of  how  a  cravat  should 
properly  be  tied.  The  Cardinal  then  suggested 
that  a  couple  of  Wogan's  comrades  could  render  the 
like  service  by  him.  The  Prince  and  Wogan  agree- 
ing to  these  propositions,  Battista  was  dispatched  in 
search  of  Wogan's  friends,  while  Eusebio  offered 
to  conduct  his  Highness  to  the  pleasant  meadow 
of  which  the  Cardinal  had  spoken.  Niemen  ac- 
cepted; then  he  turned  and  addressed  Wogan: 

"I  warn  you,"  he  said,  "that  I  fight  after  the 
Italian  fashion,  very  disconcerting  to  the  igno- 
rant." 

Wogan  answered  him  affably.  "I  warn  you," 
he  said,  "that  I  fight  after  the  Irish  fashion,  very 
disconcerting  to  the  learned." 

The  Prince  of  Niemen  took  his  leave  of  the 
Cardinal  with  a  proper  regard  for  ceremonial.  As 
Wogan  in  his  turn  was  departing  the  Cardinal  re- 
quested him,  if  he  should  happen  to  be  disengaged 
after  the  meeting,  to  return  to  the  palace,  as  he  had 
a  few  private  words  of  some  slight  importance  to 
change  with  him.  Wogan  thanked  his  Emi- 
nence for  his  command  and  quitted  the  presence. 
When  he  was  gone,  the  Cardinal,  left  alone, 

33° 


THE    PRINCE    IN    PURSUIT 

smiled    and    daintily  pressed    his    finger  -  tips   to- 
gether. 

"Whatever  happens,"  he  said  to  himself,  con- 
tentedly, "I  shall  be  relieved  of  one  of  my  diffi- 
culties." 

22 


XXX 

NIEMEN   STANDS   ASIDE 

THE  only  regret  that  clouded  Major  O'Toole's 
memory  of  his  first  day  of  authorized  court- 
ing was  that,  in  consequence,  he  was  absent  from 
the  palace  when  the  Signer  Battista  came  seeking 
the  Chevalier  Wogan's  comrades  at  their  lodgings 
therein.  O'Toole  had  gone  to  take  the  air  in  the 
town  with  his  sweetheart,  and  did  not  return  until 
the  whole  matter  was  over  and  done  with. 

Gaydon  and  Misset  accompanied  Wogan  to  the 
place  of  meeting,  the  meadow  suggested  by  the 
Cardinal.  Eusebio  and  Battista  did  their  friendly 
offices  for  the  Prince  of  Niemen.  The  meadow  was 
quite  as  pleasant  and  quiet  and  private  as  the 
Cardinal  had  given  the  disputants  to  believe,  and 
the  arrangements  were  very  speedily  made  after 
the  briefest  conference  between  the  two  officers  of 
Dillon's  and  the  two  gentlemen  of  the  Cardinal's 
household.  The  ground  was  good;  the  light 
equable;  nothing,  the  two  pairs  of  seconds  agreed, 
could  be  more  propitious  for  an  encounter.  The 
Prince  of  Niemen  carried  himself  with  the  tran- 
quillity of  a  man  that  was  confident  of  success. 

332 


NIEMEN   STANDS   ASIDE 

Wogan  showed  no  sign  of  any  emotion,  but  he 
knew  in  his  heart  that  he  was  fighting  for  Clem- 
entina, and  that  he  meant  to  fight  well.  Under 
these  conditions  the  duel  began. 

It  was  evident  from  the  first  that  Niemen  relied 
very  much  upon  his  command  of  the  Italian  fashion 
of  fencing.  The  arm  extended  almost  straight, 
together  with  the  unusual  length  of  his  sword,  did, 
indeed,  give  him  an  advantage  over  an  unpractised 
adversary,  or  one  wholly  unfamiliar  with  the 
peculiar  method  of  defence  and  attack.  It  was  this 
unfamiliarity  that  had  proved  so  disastrous  to 
O'Toole  on  the  occasion  when  he  had  measured 
himself  against  the  Prince's  sword.  But  Wogan 
had  practised  himself  in  many  ways  of  fencing,  and, 
besides,  he  was  warned  by  O'Toole's  example,  and 
too  cool-headed  to  be  taken  unawares.  He  kept 
himself  on  the  defensive  for  a  few  passes,  until  his 
quick  wit  enabled  him  to  appreciate  his  enemy's 
method  and  his  enemy's  intentions.  He  was  a  better 
swordsman  than  Niemen,  and  because  he  was  de- 
termined to  succeed  he  allowed  no  remissness  nor 
rashness  to  give  any  advantage  to  his  antagonist. 

In  a  little  time  Wogan' s  attitude  seemed  to  irri- 
tate the  Prince,  and  irritation  made  him  attack  too 
vehemently.  After  the  Prince  had  failed  to  deceive 
him  by  a  cunning  feint,  Wogan  bound  his  blade 
with  his  own,  aiming  a  low,  downward  thrust,  which 
the  Prince  sought  to  parry.  Wogan  avoided  the 
parry  by  a  thrust  up,  and  ran  the  Prince  through 

333 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

the  body.  His  sword  dropped  from  his  hand,  and 
he  fell  into  the  arms  of  Battista,  who  lowered  him 
to  the  grass. 

Eusebio  bent  over  him  and  turned  to  Wogan. 
"He  is  dead!"  he  said. 

"I  will  not  pretend  to  regret  him/'  Wogan  an- 
swered. Wiping  his  sword,  he  returned  it  to  its 
sheath  and  made  his  way  toward  the  palace,  ac- 
companied by  Gaydon  and  Misset,  leaving  the 
Cardinal's  secretaries  to  make  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements for  the  removal  of  the  Prince. 


XXXI 

IN   THE    PAVILION   OF    VENUS 

WOGAN  had  a  great  familiarity  with  affairs  of 
honor,  but  he  had  never  been  one  that  loved 
brawling  for  the  brawl's  sake,  and  though  in  action 
he  cheerfully  disregarded  his  own  life  and  the  lives 
of  any  or  all  of  his  adversaries,  he  entertained  a 
certain  fine-drawn  unwillingness  to  give  a  mortal 
ending  to  a  duello  if  it  might,  with  credit,  be 
avoided.  In  the  case  of  Niemen,  however,  his  only 
thought  was  one  of  satisfaction  that  such  a  fathom- 
less rascal  was  swept  away  from  the  path  of  the  sweet 
Princess  for  good  and  all.  But,  indeed,  he  gave 
very  little  thought  to  the  matter  now  that  it  was 
over.  The  accomplished  deed,  especially  if  it  had 
been  well  worth  the  doing,  needed  no  longer  to 
cumber  the  mind  that  had  other  things  to  think  of. 
When  Wogan  reached  the  palace  he  was  told  that 
his  Eminence  requested  his  presence  in  the  Pavilion 
of  Venus,  to  which,  after  taking  leave  of  his  two 
friends,  he  directed  his  steps.  The  Pavilion  of 
Venus  was  a  little  marble  temple  in  the  Cardinal's 
private  garden,  not  far  from  the  fountain  around 
which  his  Eminence  had  instructed  Jane  to  wander. 

335 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

The  temple  had  its  name  because  it  enshrined  a 
very  beautiful  bronze  image  of  Venus  belonging  to 
the  loveliest  period  of  Greek  art.  The  superstitious 
were  inclined  to  regard  the  statue  with  disapproval, 
because  it  was  currently  reported  to  have  been  the 
cause  of  misfortune  to  many  of  its  possessors.  It 
had,  at  one  time,  belonged  to  the  famous  Caesar 
Borgia,  who  had  obtained  it  at  a  strange  price  from 
one  of  his  enemies  of  the  house  of  Orsini,  and 
shortly  after  obtaining  it  ruin  came  upon  Caesar 
Borgia.  The  Cardinal  Gualterio  so  far  permitted 
a  popular  prejudice  to  triumph  over  connoisseur- 
ship  as  to  shelter  the  image  in  a  temple  in  his 
grounds  instead  of  housing  it  in  one  of  his  galleries. 
Wogan  had  heard  of  the  Venus,  and  was  not  dis- 
pleased to  be  afforded  the  chance  of  seeing  it;  so 
he  went  nimbly  through  the  Cardinal's  garden  tow- 
ard the  place  where  the  white  pillars  of  the  temple 
showed  brightly  against  a  sombre  background  of 
cypresses.  He  did  not  consider  that  his  coming 
might  be  seen  through  those  white  pillars;  if  he  had 
so  considered  he  would  only  have  reflected  that  his 
approach  would  be  visible  to  the  Cardinal,  waiting 
there  and  admiring  the  priceless  Venus.  He  did 
not  dream  that  the  Venus  had  another  votary  that 
day,  one  that  had  been  begged  by  the  Cardinal  to 
pay  a  visit  to  the  shrine  of  the  goddess,  and  to 
await  his  Eminence  there  when  his  Eminence  had 
shaken  himself  free  from  the  cares  of  the  moment. 
Thus,  if  the  coming  of  Wogan  were  a  surprise  and 

336 


IN   THE   PAVILION   OF   VENUS 

more  than  a  surprise  to  the  visitor  to  the  shrine 
that  was  expecting  only  the  crimson  robes  of  the 
Cardinal,  there  was  a  greater,  because  a  fresher,  sur- 
prise reserved  for  Wogan,  expecting  only  the  crim- 
son robes  of  the  Cardinal,  when  he  entered  the 
pillared  precincts  and  found  himself  face  to  face 
with  Clementina. 

Wogan  stared  at  the  Princess,  hardly  knowing 
what  to  say.  He  had  had  no  speech  in  private  with 
her  since  the  day  at  Castel-Falcone,  although  they 
had  met  often  enough  at  the  Cardinal's  table  and 
in  the  Cardinal's  company.  Swiftly  and  instantly 
he  resolved  that  he  would  say  nothing  about  Nie- 
men's  fate.  There  was  no  reason  why  Clementina 
should  ever  know  of  that  peril.  He  had  to  break 
the  awkward  silence.  The  Princess  was  evidently 
waiting  for  him  to  speak,  and  he  did  speak,  with  no 
great  felicity.  "Well,  your  Highness,"  he  said, 
with  a  false  air  of  cheerfulness,"  we  have  come  very 
happily  to  the  end  of  our  adventure.'* 

Clementina  looked  at  him  in  a  wonder.  There 
was  a  word  he  had  used  which  jarred  harshly  upon 
her  ear,  and  she  resented  it.  "Did  you  say  hap- 
pily ?"  she  asked,  and  there  was  a  wounded  note  in 
her  voice  which  Wogan  longed  to  sooth,  yet  dared 
not,  for  he  persisted  in  thinking  it  wisest  to  per- 
severe in  his  pretence.  But  if  Clementina  per- 
ceived his  design,  she  was  not  willing  to  assist  him. 
"I  think,"  she  said,  "you  have  a  bad  memory, 
Charles  Wogan." 

337 


Wogan  abandoned  his  air  of  assumed  cheerful- 
ness. "I  shall  remember  some  things  forever/' 
he  said,  very  gravely. 

Clementina  came  a  little  nearer  to  him,  reached 
out  her  hand  as  if  to  touch  him,  although  she  did 
not  touch  him.  "Have  you  forgotten,"  she  asked, 
"some  words  we  changed  in  the  ruins  of  Castel- 
Falcone  ?" 

Wogan  did  not  know  what  to  say.  He  had  taken 
it  for  granted  that  the  madness  of  Castel-Falcone 
was  a  thing  to  be  forgotten  as  far  as  such  things 
can  ever  be  forgotten,  that  at  least  it  was  to  be  a 
secret  buried  between  them,  a  secret  of  which 
neither  was  ever  to  read  the  least  knowledge  in  the 
eyes  of  the  other.  "Your  Highness — "  he  stam- 
mered, and  could  say  no  more,  for  Clementina 
interrupted  him  fiercely. 

"Let  us  be  man  and  woman  together,  Charles 
Wogan,"  she  cried,  "not  Highness  and  subject;  if 
only  for  the  last  time.  Clementina  and  Charles. 
Have  you  forgotten  Castel-Falcone  ?" 

Wogan  looked  at  his  beautiful  lady  very  sadly. 
"I  have  not  forgotten,  Clementina,"  he  answered, 
earnestly. 

Clementina  moved  restlessly  up  and  down  in  the 
narrow  space  of  the  little  pavilion.  "Our  lives  are 
still  in  the  making,"  she  protested.  "A  little  longer 
and  it  will  be  too  late.  Fate  will  have  taken  hold 
of  us,  flung  us  asunder,  made  me  a  king's  wife,  and 
sent  you  as  a  soldier  of  fortune,  God  knows  where. 

338 


IN   THE    PAVILION   OF    VENUS 

We  have  this  breathing  space  in  which  to  think,  to 
resolve,  to  act.  What  we  decide  now  can  never  be 
changed.  You  understand  me,  Charles  ?  You  know 
what  I  mean  ?  You  do  not  blame  me  for  speaking  ?" 

Wogan  saluted  her  very  reverentially.  "  I  under- 
stand you,"  he  said.  "God  forbid  that  I  should 
blame  you  for  a  frankness  that  honors  me  above 
all  mortals.  Let  me  say  again  what  I  said  once 
before,  when  we  could  hear  the  beating  of  the  wings 
of  Death.  Clementina,  I  love  you." 

Clementina  extended  her  arms  to  him  with  a 
great  cry.  "And  I  love  you,"  she  said.  "Take 
me  away!" 

Wogan  forced  himself  to  stand  before  her  mo- 
tionless, to  make  no  response  to  those  appealing 
arms,  to  those  appealing  eyes.  "I  will  not  speak 
to  the  woman  I  love,"  he  said,  "of  the  hardships  of 
a  soldier's  life,  of  the  trials,  the  privations  the 
woman  must  endure  who  shares  his  fortunes.  When 
a  woman  and  man  love  truly  such  considerations 
do  not  exist." 

Clementina  clasped  her  hands  tightly  together 
and  extended  them  to  him  supplicatingly.  "You 
know  my  mind;  you  know  my  heart,"  she  said. 
"Take  me  away!" 

Wogan  went  on  in  the  same  measured  tone,  pre- 
serving the  same  restrained  carriage.  "I  will  not 
speak  either,"  he  said,  "of  the  distance  that  divides 
a  princess  of  an  ancient  house  from  an  exiled  Irish 
gentleman." 

339 


THE   KING  OVER   THE   WATER 

Clementina  made  an  impatient  gesture  of  one 
that  brushes  aside  all  scruples.  "Why  speak  of 
that?"  she  asked,  impatiently.  "We  have  passed 
all  that,  you  and  I.  Take  me  away!  I  will  go 
with  you  if  you  take  me  away." 

Wogan  sighed,  but  he  did  not  alter  his  attitude 
of  reserve,  "When  you  speak  so  to  me,"  he  de- 
clared, "  I  seem  to  stand  on  the  threshold  of  heaven. 
And  yet,  God  help  and  pity  me,  I  have  more  to  say 
than  just  'thank  God!'" 

Clementina  frowned.  "What  have  you  to  say  ?" 
she  asked,  sharply.  She  seemed  to  be  impatient 
of  his  reluctance  to  agree  with  her  mood  and  obey 
her  wishes. 

"Just  this,"  Wogan  answered;  "that  I  serve  a 
prince,  the  noblest  and  the  most,  unfortunate  ever. 
He  is  my  dear  master;  I  believe  him  to  be  God's 
chosen  lieutenant.  My  flesh  and  blood,  my  body  and 
my  soul,  are  sworn  to  his  service.  What  should  I 
think  of  myself  if  I  betrayed  his  trust  ?  But  that  is 
nothing.  The  dreadful  question  is,  what  would 
you  think  of  me  if  I  betrayed  his  trust  ?" 

Clementina  paused  in  her  restless  walk  and 
looked  steadily  at  her  lover.  "There  is  no  question 
of  a  broken  trust,"  she  said.  "We  cannot  control 
our  loves.  There  are  other  princesses  in  Europe. 
King  James  does  not  know  me,  does  not  love  me. 
Do  you  think  he  would  wish  to  take  an  unwilling 
bride  ?  Ah,  I  think  you  reason  too  coldly  for  a 
true  lover." 

340 


IN    THE    PAVILION   OF   VENUS 

Wogan's  sternness  of  resolution  was  shaken  by 
the  agony  in  her  voice.  "Clementina,  Clemen- 
tina," he  cried,  "I  must  act  in  honor." 

Clementina  struck  her  hands  angrily  together. 
"Honor,  honor!"  she  said,  disdainfully;  "you  make 
an  idol  of  honor." 

Wogan  pressed  both  his  hands  against  his  breast 
as  if  to  force  himself  to  self-command.  "I  am 
fighting  against  my  heart's  desire,"  he  said,  sadly. 

Clementina  came  quite  close  to  him,  her  face 
very  near  his  face.  "Do  you  love  me  ?"  she  asked, 
and  she  asked  it  with  her  eyes  as  well  as  with  her 
speech. 

"With  all  my  soul,"  Wogan  answered,  with  the 
simplicity  of  one  that  utters  the  great  truth. 

Clementina  drew  a  little  way  back  from  him 
and  smiled  triumphantly.  "Then  I  am  resolved," 
she  declared.  "Great  love  is  a  gift  which  comes 
to  few,  and  when  it  comes  it  must  be  seized.  You 
say  King  James  is  all  kindness.  Well,  I  will  tell 
the  King  that  I  have  no  love  to  give  him,  and  surely 
he  will  set  me  free." 

Wogan  looked  at  her  in  a  wonder  of  doubt  and 
hope.  "The  King  will  always  do  what  is  right," 
he  said;  "but  what  will  the  King  think  of  me  ?" 

Clementina  seemed  to  feel  no  anxiety,  to  accept 
no  discouragement,  always  resolved.  "When  I 
tell  the  King  all,"  she  insisted,  "he  will  understand 
you.  Say  no  more.  I  will  seize  happiness  while 
it  is  within  my  reach."  She  was  close  to  him  again, 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

now  entreating  him  with  every  gesture  and  every 
sound  of  her  voice  and  every  glance  of  her  eyes. 
Wogan  surrendered,  swept  away  by  the  strength 
of  their  mutual  passion.  He  caught  her  in  his 
arms. 

"Dearest,"  he  cried,  "I  fling  aside  all  scruples, 
forget  everything  but  that  you  are  mine.  Beloved, 
say  again  that  you  love  me." 

She  looked  up  at  him,  her  face  radiant  with  joy. 
"I  love  you,  Charles,"  she  said,  exultantly. 

Wogan  bent  over  her,  worshipping  her.  "  I 
love  you,  Clementina,"  he  whispered ;  "  I  love 
you." 

Still  clinging  to  him,  she  smiled  and  lightly  chided. 
"I  have  had  to  do  the  wooing,"  she  complained, 
with  the  happy  voice  of  one  that  had  the  right  to 
rebuke  her  lover. 

Wogan  drew  her  closer  to  him.  "Leave  that  to 
me  now,"  he  cried,  and  leaned  to  kiss  her,  when 
suddenly,  to  his  surprise,  she  wrested  herself  from 
his  embrace,  and  with  both  hands  pushed  him  from 
her. 

She  had  seen  through  the  pillars  of  the  pavilion 
what  Wogan,  who  was  turned  away,  could  not  see, 
the  gleam  through  the  green  of  crimson  silk.  "  Hush ! 
The  Cardinal,"  she  said.  "I  see  the  Cardinal.  I 
think  he  is  coming  this  way." 

At  her  words  Wogan  turned  and,  following  the 
direction  of  her  gaze,  saw  what  she  saw,  the  vivid 
color  moving  through  the  trees.  They  could  see 

342 


IN   THE    PAVILION    OF    VENUS 

now  the  Cardinal  coming  in  their  direction,  moving 
slowly  with  his  easy,  princely  gait.  They  said 
nothing  further  as  he  approached,  only  Clementina 
caught  at  Wogan's  hand  for  a  moment  and  pressed 
it  passionately. 


XXXII 

THE    CARDINAL   CONVERSES 

A)  the  Cardinal  entered  the  pavilion  he  greeted 
the  pair  with  a  paternal  smile,  in  which,  how- 
ever, it  seemed  to  Wogan  that  there  lurked  some- 
thing ironical.  After  the  Princess  and  the  Chevalier 
had  knelt  and  kissed  the  Cardinal's  ring,  the 
Cardinal  turned  to  the  Princess.  "I  have  good 
news  for  you/'  he  said,  "the  best  news  in  the 
world.  His  Majesty  is  close  at  hand.  I  have  just 
received  tidings  from  a  courier.  He  is  travelling  at 
full  speed  from  Rome.  His  Majesty  should  be  here 
within  half  an  hour." 

As  he  spoke  the  Cardinal's  bland  gaze  travelled 
from  the  face  of  the  Princess  to  the  face  of  the 
Chevalier,  and  back  again.  He  seemed  to  be  en- 
tirely obsessed  by  the  pleasure  of  his  tidings;  he 
seemed  to  be  quite  unaware  of  the  changed  ex- 
pression of  the  Princess,  or  the  sudden  gravity  of 
Wogan.  Yet  Wogan,  watching  him  still,  seemed 
to  read  a  kind  of  mocking  laughter  in  the  Cardinal's 
eyes  and  on  the  Cardinal's  lips. 

The  Princess  made  an  effort  to  recover  her  self- 
possession.  She  had  flushed  so  furiously  red  an4 

344 


THE   CARDINAL    CONVERSES 

again  gone  so  deadly  pale  at  the  Cardinal's  news 
that  only  a  preoccupied  ecclesiastic  could  have 
failed  to  notice  her  confusion. 

The  Cardinal  nodded,  and  taking  her  hand 
patted  it  gently.  "The  King  is  coming,"  he  re- 
peated. "I  can  understand  your  joy."  He  turned 
his  head  toward  Wogan  and  continued.  "Sir,  will 
you  watch  for  the  first  sight  of  his  Majesty  and 
let  me  know,  that  I  may  be  ready  to  greet  him  ?  I 
have  a  few  words  to  say  to  her  Highness." 

Wogan  knelt  to  the  Cardinal  and  kissed  his  ring, 
rose,  deeply  saluted  the  Princess,  and  ascending  the 
steps  of  the  terrace  disappeared  from  sight. 

The  Cardinal  looked  steadily  into  Clementina's 
face.  He  still  held  her  hand  and  caressed  it  gently. 
"This  is  golden  news,  my  child,"  he  said.  "Surely 
you  ought  to  be  congratulated  upon  having  a  royal 
lover  that  is  so  ardent  to  behold  his  bride." 

Clementina  did  not  answer,  she  did  not  seem  to 
be  able  to  speak.  The  startling  suddenness  of  the 
unexpected  coming  of  the  King  had  shaken  her. 
She  knew  not  what  to  think  nor  what  to  say.  The 
Cardinal  continued  to  appear  entirely  unconscious 
of  her  agitation.  Still  holding  her  hand,  he  drew 
her  gently  toward  the  marble  seat,  and  the  pair  sat 
down  together,  the  trembling,  troubled  woman  and 
the  quiet,  suave,  good-humored  ecclesiastic. 

The  Cardinal  moved  a  little  nearer  to  Clementina 
and  addressed  her  in  a  voice  that  was  pitched  in  a 
key  of  the  tenderest  solicitude.  "The  star  of  your 

345 


THE   KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

Highness's  fortunes,"  he  said,  "shines  high  in 
heaven.  The  happy  moment  of  your  nuptials 
approaches.  The  crown  of  England  will  soon,  in 
a  sense,  rest  upon  your  forehead." 

He  paused  for  a  moment,  and  the  faintest  of 
smiles  flickered  about  his  lips  and  faded  away,  as 
he  thus  hinted  a  somewhat  dubious  confidence  in 
the  Restoration  that  the  Jacobites  dreamed  of.  He 
began  again,  looking  at  the  Princess  with  kindly, 
inquiring  eyes  that  were  so  used  to  reading  thoughts: 
"Yet,  if  I  have  any  knowledge  of  women,  your  High- 
ness does  not  seem  very  visibly  overjoyed." 

The  caressing  sweetness  of  the  Cardinal's  voice, 
the  paternal  sympathy  of  his  manner,  the  amiability 
that  illuminated  his  countenance,  touched  very  pro- 
foundly Clementina's  troubled  heart.  She  turned 
almost  eagerly  toward  the  Cardinal,  she  stretched 
out  her  hands  with  a  childish  air  of  appeal,  and 
began  in  a  faltering  voice,  "If  your  Eminence  only 
knew — " 

The  Cardinal  checked  her  speech  with  a  lifted 
finger  of  protest.  "My  child,"  he  said,  still  with 
the  same  soothing  gentleness,  "this  is  no  time  for 
the  confessional.  Besides,  there  are  things,  many 
things,  in  this  life  which  there  is  no  need  for  those 
who  are  vexed  in  spirit  to  tell  me.  The  poor  priest 
has  not  worked  all  these  weary  years  in  the  world 
for  nothing." 

The  sound  of  his  speech  soothed  Clementina's 
tangled  nerves,  the  mild  kindness  of  his  com- 

346 


THE   CARDINAL   CONVERSES 

passionate  gaze  calmed  her,  yet  she  already  re- 
gretted her  first  temptation  to  tell  her  story,  and 
resented  the  power  which  had  tempted  her.  "I 
do  not  understand  your  Eminence/'  she  answered, 
in  a  voice  that  she  vainly  endeavored  to  make 
steady  and  assured. 

The  Cardinal  nodded  his  head  and  smiled  pleas- 
antly, as  one  that  was  willing  to  humor  so  fair  and 
exalted  a  penitent.  "Well,  well,  well!"  he  said.  "I 
do  not  ask  you  to  tell  me  any  secret,  especially  as 
it  may  be  there  is  no  secret  to  tell.  If  I  am,  how- 
ever weakly  and  unworthily,  a  guide  to  the  other 
world,  I  am  no  less  a  citizen  of  this  world,  endowed 
by  Providence  in  its  mercy  with  some  small  powers 
of  observation  and  some  slight  skill  in  drawing 
deductions  from  them." 

He  paused  as  if  to  watch  the  effect  of  his  words 
upon  his  hearer,  and  Clementina  gazed  upon  the 
priest  in  a  fascinated  terror.  "What  does  your 
Eminence  mean  ?"  she  began,  and  said  no  more. 

And  the  Cardinal,  smiling  indulgently  at  her 
hesitation,  took  up  his  tale  again.  "Doubtless," 
he  said,  "when  your  Highness  was  a  little  girl  you 
were  fond  of  fairy  tales.  When  I  was  a  little  boy — 
which  is  a  very  much  longer  time  ago — I  know  that 
I  was,  and  could  listen  to  them  forever  and  tell  them 
with  the  best.  It  is  a  pity  that  we  cannot  always 
breathe  the  childish  atmosphere  of  romance.  What 
more  natural,  for  instance,  what  more  pleasant,  in  a 
fairy  tale  than  that  some  fair  princess,  imprisoned, 

23  347 


THE   KING   OVER    THE    WATER 

let  us  say,  by  some  wicked  magician,  should  be 
rescued  from  her  captivity  by  some  valorous  and 
handsome  young  knight  and  should  be  found  very 
susceptible  to  the  charms  of  her  rescuer  ?  What 
more  pleasant" — the  Cardinal  paused  for  a  mo- 
ment with  his  smiling  regard  steadily  fixed  upon 
Clementina's  face,  then  he  added,  with  significant 
emphasis — "in  a  fairy  tale?" 

Clementina  could  not  possibly  mistake  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Cardinal's  speech  as  he  sat  there  beam- 
ing so  blandly  upon  her.  It  was  plain  that  he  knew 
or  guessed  her  secret.  For  all  that  he  was  a  great 
prince  of  the  church,  and  a  great  man,  she  felt  a 
sudden  anger  against  him.  "If  your  Eminence 
knows  so  much — "  she  began,  hotly,  but  the 
Cardinal,  as  before,  would  not  permit  her  to  finish 
her  sentence,  and  for  all  her  anger  she  had  scarcely 
the  temerity  to  resist  the  command  of  that  uplifted 
hand. 

The  Cardinal  finished  her  sentence  for  her. 
"  *  Your  Eminence  knows  more,'  you  would  add." 
He  nodded  his  head.  "Surely,  surely.  What  more 
natural  in  this  fairy  tale  that  we  talk  of  than  that 
the  brisk  young  hero  should  entertain  a  lively 
admiration  for  the  lady  he  had  rescued  ?  What 
more  appropriate  than  the  mutual  discovery  of  the 
passion  of  hero  for  heroine  and  of  heroine  for  hero  ? 
What  more  pretty  and  wilful  than  a  romantic  resolve 
to  defy  the  stars  and  fly  to  hide  in  some  distant, 
obscure  Elysium  ?" 

348 


THE   CARDINAL   CONVERSES 

Clementina  clasped  and  unclasped  her  hands 
nervously  as  she  listened  to  the  suave  words  so 
softly  spoken.  She  was  angry  with  the  man  who 
could  chide  her  thus  with  nursery  parables,  but 
also  she  was  alarmed  at  his  knowledge.  "What 
has  your  Eminence  heard  ?"  she  asked,  almost 
timidly. 

The  Cardinal  laughed  a  little,  good-tempered 
laugh.  It  was  hard  for  her,  haggardly  observing 
his  easy,  debonair  manner,  to  imagine  that  he  was 
talking  serious  words  or  meaning  serious  things. 
"I  have  heard  nothing,"  he  said,  quietly.  "It  is 
not  a  question  of  hearing.  Were  my  Eminence  as 
deaf  as  an  adder,  or  as  quick  of  hearing  as  Fine 
Ear  in  the  fairy  story,  it  would  be  all  one  where  the 
secret  of  such  a  pair  of  lovers  is  concerned;  a 
secret  that  is  no  secret;  a  secret  that  betrays  itself 
fairly  and  plainly  to  the  observing  eyes  of  a  cunning 
old  ecclesiastic  like  myself." 

Clementina  frowned.  Was  it,  indeed,  a  fact  that 
her  ingenuous  temperament  had  betrayed  itself  so 
completely  that  the  thoughts  she  believed  she  buried 
in  the  heart  of  her  heart,  the  secret  that  she  shared 
with  only  one  other  and  that  other  the  man  she 
loved,  could  shine  so  patently  in  her  eyes  and  be- 
tray itself  so  readily  to  the  Cardinal  ?  "Your  Emi- 
nence—" she  faltered  again,  and  could  say  no  more, 
though  she  was  eager  to  say  much. 

There  was  nothing  menacing,  nothing  even  faint- 
ly reproving,  in  the  Cardinal's  manner.  He  dis/« 

349 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

coursed  as  affably  as  if  he  had  been  talking  of 
nothing  more  momentous  than  the  state  of  the 
weather. 

"I  can  picture  the  pretty  scene,"  he  murmured, 
half  closing  his  eyes  as  he  spoke,  as  if  he  really  saw 
what  he  spoke  of  so  tranquilly.  "Of  course,  the 
princess  of  our  fairy  tale  must  speak  the  first  words, 
as  befits  her  exalted  station.  The  young  gentleman 
that  has  been  bound  to  keep  silent  so  long  is  now 
torn  between  longing  and  honor.  The  pair,  it  may 
be,  come  to  some  desperate  resolve." 

He  paused  in  the  monotonous  flow  of  his  narra- 
tive and,  opening  his  eyes  wide  again,  looked  at 
Clementina  with  a  smile  in  which,  perhaps,  there 
lingered  a  suspicion  of  slyness. 

Clementina  flushed  angrily  and  made  as  if  to 
rise,  but  the  Cardinal  softly  laid  his  white  hand 
upon  her  arm  and  restrained  her.  His  eyes  were 
reading  her  face  with  an  air  of  great  kindness. 
There  was  no  sign  of  anger  or  irony  in  them,  yet 
Clementina  felt  that  her  companion  was  ironical, 
and  that  in  his  heart  he  was  angry  with  her.  She 
spoke  vehemently,  almost  fiercely.  "  I  will  do  noth- 
ing," she  protested,  "  to  be  ashamed  of.  I  will  avow 
to  him  who  has  the  right  to  be  told." 

The  Cardinal's  lifted  hand  once  more  checked 
her  further  speech.  His  smile  now  suggested  noth- 
ing more  than  a  playful  remonstrance  for  some 
trivial  error.  "Did  I  not  say,"  he  went  on,  "some 
desperate  resolve  ?"  He  emphasized  a  little  the 

350 


THE   CARDINAL   CONVERSES 

words  he  had  already  employed.  He  nestled  back 
a  little  more  cozily  into  the  curve  of  the  seat,  folded 
his  hands,  and  nodded  while  he  spoke.  "I  sup- 
pose," he  said,  "you  mean  that  you  will  tell  the 
King  that  you  do  not  love  him;  that  your  heart  is 
wholly  another's  ?" 

Clementina  drew  herself  up  and  faced  her  amiable 
antagonist  steadily.  "I  shall  speak  to  the  King," 
she  said.  "I  shall  tell  the  King  the  truth." 

The  Cardinal's  smile  widened,  the  Cardinal's 
eye  gleamed  with  a  hint  of  good  -  natured  malice. 
He  spoke  now  with  a  slightly  drawling  voice,  as  if 
he  were  growing  drowsy  in  the  warm  air,  and  his 
words  came  lullingly.  "  '  What  is  truth  ?'  asked  the 
Roman  pro-consul  seventeen  centuries  ago,  and  the 
world  has  been  trying  to  answer  the  question  ever 
since."  He  clasped  and  unclasped  his  fingers  lazily, 
and  looked  at  his  ring,  as  if  he  had  forgotten  what 
he  was  about  to  say,  and  had  lost  all  interest  in  the 
conversation.  Then  suddenly  he  continued,  still 
in  the  same  sleepy  tone :  "  My  daughter,  what  you 
propose  to  do  would  be  quite  delightful  in  a  fairy 
tale  where  the  beautiful  young  Princess  of  the  Blue 
Mountains  declares  to  the  Emperor  of  the  Pink 
Islands,  to  whom  she  is  betrothed,  that  she  loves 
and  is  beloved  by  some  Captain  Fracassa  with  a 
large  heart,  a  long  sword,  and  a  lean  wallet." 

Clementina  frowned  impatiently  at  this  patent 
travesty  of  her  cause,  but  the  Cardinal  took  no  notice 
of  her  impatience. 

351 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

"Monsieur  Perrault  or  Madame  D'Aulnoy,"  he 
continued,  "would  make  pleasant  conceits  out  of 
such  a  fiction,  and  happy  children  would  clap  their 
hands  at  it."  He  gave  a  little,  gentle  sigh  and  re- 
sumed: "But  we  are  not  children,  your  Highness, 
and  it  is  not  given  to  us  always  or  often  to  be  happy. 
Moreover,  we  do  not  believe  in  fairy  tales." 

His  eyes  had  been  opened  very  wide  as  he  pointed 
the  moral  of  the  parable.  Now  he  lowered  his  lids 
again  and  seemed  waiting  for  Clementina  to  say 
something. 

"Why,"  she  asked,  sadly,  "should  I  deny  my- 
self happiness  if  happiness  be  within  my  reach  ?" 

The  Cardinal  shook  his  head.  "Who,"  he  asked, 
"can  say  with  surety  that  happiness  is  within  his 
reach  ?" 

"None,"  Clementina  answered,  firmly;  "but 
some  may  believe  it  and  act  upon  the  belief." 

The  Cardinal  caressed  the  gold  cross  upon  his 
breast.  "I  will  not,"  he  said,  "tease  your  High- 
ness with  trite  insistence  upon  duty,  for  though 
duty  be  the  meed  of  kings  and  subjects,  you  would 
perhaps  believe  that  an  exception  should  be  made 
in  the  case  of  beautiful  and  high-spirited  young 
women." 

Clementina  turned  and  interrupted  the  Cardinal. 
"Why,"  she  asked,  fiercely,  "should  I  be  sacrificed 
to  duty  ?" 

The  Cardinal  gave  a  few  seconds  to  silence,  as  if 
he  were  meditating  this  question,  then  he  answered, 

352 


dryly,  "Your  Highness  was  mighty  willing  to  be 
sacrificed  until  you  met  your  gallant  cavalier." 

The  stroke  was  a  shrewd  one,  but  Clementina 
answered  him  frankly  and  fiercely.  She  was  re- 
solved to  say  the  most  and  the  best  she  could  for 
herself  and  for  her  cause.  "  Because,"  she  replied, 
"until  I  met  him  I  did  not  know  what  life  might 
mean.  Now  I  do  know,  and  I  mean  to  act  upon 
the  knowledge." 

The  Cardinal  brought  his  fine  hands  together  a 
few  times  in  noiseless  applause.  He  seemed  more 
amiable  than  ever,  more  interested,  more  ready  to 
be  indulgent.  There  was  nothing  in  his  manner 
that  could  reasonably  irritate  his  companion.  "Cer- 
tainly," he  said,  "certainly.  But  just  let  us  reason 
together  a  little.  There  is  never  any  harm  in  two 
good  friends  having  a  quiet  chat  over  some  difficult 
problem,  and  we,  I  am  glad  to  believe,  are  very 
good  friends.  If  I  should  fail  to  convince  you, 
there  is  always  the  possibility  that  you  may  succeed 
in  convincing  me.  You  ask  me  why  you  should 
deny  yourself  happiness  if  happiness  be  within  your 
reach  ?" 

"Yes,"  Clementina  answered,  firmly.  < 

"Are  you  very  sure,"  the  Cardinal  questioned, 
"that  happiness  is  within  your  reach  ?" 

"Sure,"  Clementina  answered,  emphatically. 

The  Cardinal  continued  to  smile  placidly,  and 
his  voice  had  a  cheerful  quality  that  made  any  sug- 
gestion of  a  homily  in  his  speech  very  faint  and 

353 


far  away.  "I  admit,  of  course,"  he  said,  "that 
mortals  have  a  right  under  certain  conditions  to 
seek  happiness,  and  I  regret  after  a  long  experience 
of  this  world  that  so  few  attain  to  it.  Still,  in  pur- 
suit of  one's  own  happiness,  one  must  not  wholly 
neglect  the  happiness  of  others/' 

"I  think,  your  Eminence,"  Clementina  said,  soft- 
ly, "that  in  this  case  my  happiness  would  mean  the 
happiness  of  another." 

The  Cardinal  laughed  outright.  "Ah,  yes,"  he 
said;  "our  young  Fracassa.  But  I  was  think- 
ing of  another,  whose  happiness  for  the  moment 
you  seem  to  have  forgotten." 

Clementina  shot  a  swift  glance  at  the  Cardinal, 
whose  face  was  as  amiably  inscrutable  as  ever. 
"You  mean  his  Majesty?"  she  said. 

"I  mean  his  Majesty,"  the  Cardinal  answered, 
and  said  no  more. 

Clementina  paused  for  a  moment  before  speaking, 
as  if  carefully  considering  her  ground,  and  then 
spoke.  "Surely,"  she  said,  "you  do  not  pretend 
that  his  Majesty's  happiness  is  at  stake  in  this 
matter  ?  His  Majesty  has  never  seen  me.  His 
Majesty  was  ready  to  marry  any  one  of  half  a  dozen 
princesses  that  I  could  name  to  your  Eminence  were 
not  their  names  already  familiar  to  you." 

The  Cardinal  nodded  his  head  in  agreement,  but 
he  said  nothing,  and  Clementina  went  on:  "It 
may  give  his  Majesty  some  slight  trouble  to  set 
about  a  political  wooing  again,  but  no  more  so 

354 


THE   CARDINAL   CONVERSES 

than  if  I  had  been  unable  to  get  away  from  the 
castle  of  Innspruck.  His  Majesty  would  not  have 
waited  unmarried — I  know  he  would  not  have  been 
allowed  to  wait  unmarried — if  I  had  been  kept  in 
captivity  for  many  years."  She  paused  for  a  mo- 
ment. Still  the  Cardinal  nodded;  still  the  Cardinal 
said  nothing.  Clementina  went  on  afresh:  "I  am 
sure  from  all  I  have  heard  of  his  Majesty  that  his 
is  too  proud  and  generous  a  spirit  to  compel  a 
woman  to  wed  him  against  her  will.  I  will  tell  the 
King  all  the  truth,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  King 
will  set  me  free." 

"Remember,"  said  the  Cardinal,  slowly,  with  the 
manner  of  one  who  utters  an  important  argument, 
"that  you  are  losing  the  crown  of  England." 

A  faint  smile  for  a  moment  stirred  the  gravity  of 
Clementina's  face.  "Is  the  crown  of  England  such 
a  certainty  ?"  she  asked,  quietly. 

The  Cardinal  made  a  vague  gesture  of  his  hands. 
"Nothing  in  this  life  is  certain,  my  daughter,"  he 
answered,  "but  at  least  you  are  throwing  away  a 
great  chance.  You  are  losing  the  right  to  be  called 
a  queen." 

"I  would  rather,"  Clementina  answered,  vehe- 
mently, "be  the  wife  of  the  man  I  love  than  be  the 
queen  of  the  world." 

The  Cardinal  sighed  profoundly.  "Very  excel- 
lent sentiments,"  he  said,  "very  prettily  expressed. 
Well,  I  suppose  if  you  feel  so  strongly  on  the  matter 
there  is  nothing  else  to  be  said,  nothing  else  to  be 

355 


THE   KING    OVER   THE   WATER 

done."  He  made  as  if  to  rise,  and  then  seemed  to 
change  his  mind.  "Still,"  he  said,  "I  am  sorry 
for  King  James." 

"Why  are  you  sorry  for  King  James?"  Clem- 
entina questioned.  "Do  you  think  he  loses  so 
much  in  losing  me  ?" 

"Surely,"  said  the  Cardinal,  with  a  frankly  ad- 
miring glance  at  the  girl;  "but  for  the  moment  I 
was  thinking  of  other  afflictions  which  your  action 
will  bring  down  upon  him.  Think  how  heavy  the 
humiliation  you  inflict  upon  him,  how  you  outrage 
his  pride,  how  you  delight  his  enemies." 

"That  might  be  so,"  Clementina  argued,  "if  I 
left  him  unawa-res,  but  not  if  I  tell  him  the  truth, 
and  he  sets  me  free  of  his  own  accord." 

"Let  us  assume  as  much,"  the  Cardinal  agreed. 
"Yet  none  the  less  you  will  have  made  him  cut 
a  very  ridiculous  figure."  Here  the  Cardinal 
chuckled  a  little,  as  if  in  spite  of  himself.  The 
comicality  of  the  situation  seemed  to  tickle  him. 

Clementina  looked  annoyed  and  puzzled.  "It  is 
never  ridiculous  to  be  magnanimous,"  she  asserted. 

The  Cardinal  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "I  am 
afraid,"  he  said,  "that  the  malevolent  world  would 
always  regard  as  ridiculous  the  sovereign  whose 
plighted  bride  jilts  him  for  a  barrack-room  paladin." 

Clementina  now  frowned  in  very  earnest.  "  Emi- 
nence!" she  cried,  in  angry  protest. 

The  Cardinal  smiled  apologetically.  "I  am 
only,"  he  said,  "voicing  the  world's  words.  People 

356 


THE   CARDINAL    CONVERSES 

will  say  unkind  things  of  you.  People  will  say 
unkind  things  of  your  paladin.  For  myself,  I  have 
the  highest  respect  and  esteem  for  the  Chevalier 
Wogan." 

Clementina  clasped  her  hands  together.  "He 
is  indeed  a  splendid  gentleman,"  she  cried,  en- 
thusiastically. 

"He  is  splendid  enough,"  the  Cardinal  agreed, 
"and  he  is  very  certainly  a  gentleman,  but  he  has 
not  the  right  to  marry  a  royal  princess." 

"I  am  told,"  Clementina  asserted,  proudly,  "that 
he  is  descended  from  the  kings  of  his  own  country." 

"I  have  met,"  said  the  Cardinal,  pleasantly,  "a 
very  large  number  of  Irish  gentlemen,  and  I  have 
found,  without  exception,  that  they  all  claim  de- 
scent from  their  country's  kings,  but  the  claim  is 
one  scarcely  serious  enough  to  be  considered  in  the 
case  of  a  lady  of  a  recognized  royal  house." 

"He  is  good  enough  for  me,"  Clementina  said, 
simply,  as  if  that  settled  the  matter. 

The  Cardinal  nodded,  as  if  he  seemed  to  think  so 
too.  When  he  spoke  it  was  as  if  to  express  a  sud- 
den afterthought.  "  But  if  you  are  prepared,"  he 
said,  "to  make  the  King  ridiculous,  to  plunge  your 
own  family  into  mourning,  and  to  have  your  name 
the  theme  of  every  lewd  pamphleteer  and  ballad- 
monger  in  Europe — if  you  are  prepared  for  all  this 
in  your  pursuit  of  happiness,  and  I  take  it  that  you 
are  so  prepared—  He  paused  interrogatively. 

Clementina  answered  vaguely.  "I  think  your 
357 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

Eminence  much  exaggerates  the  consequences  of 
my  act." 

The  Cardinal  went  on:  "If  you  are  prepared 
for  all  the  calamities  I  have  enumerated,  are  you 
prepared  for  the  consequences  to  the  companion  of 
your  whimsical  adventure  ?" 

Clementina  looked  startled.  "What  conse- 
quences ?"  she  asked,  anxiously. 

The  Cardinal  looked  pleased.  "The  Chevalier 
did  not  mention  them  ?"  he  said.  "  I  expected  as 
much.  He  is  a  very  honorable  gentleman  that 
could  not  speak  of  his  own  danger.  But  I  that  am 
his  friend  and  your  friend  am  bound  to  no  such 
reticence." 

Clementina  looked  at  the  Cardinal  with  bright 
alarm  in  her  eyes.  "What  dangers  are  there  for 
him  ?"  she  asked,  fiercely. 

"There  are  many,"  the  Cardinal  answered, 
quickly.  "Let  us  take  first  a  very  probable  sup- 
position— namely,  that  your  excellent  father,  not 
seeing  your  adventure  with  the  eyes  of  a  headstrong 
youth,  may  demand  the  arrest  of  your  lover.  That 
demand  would  probably  be  acceded  to  by  any 
court  in  Europe,  and  the  arrest  would  undoubtedly 
be  followed  by  your  lover's  execution  and  your  own 
sequestration  in  a  convent." 

"His  execution!"  Clementina  gasped,  suddenly 
grown  white,  and  taking  no  heed  of  the  menace  to 
herself. 

"Of  course,"  the  Cardinal  asserted.  "It  is  no 
358 


THE   CARDINAL   CONVERSES 

less  than  treason  for  one  that  is  not  of  royal  blood 
to  marry  clandestinely  with  the  daughter  of  a  royal 
house." 

"There  are  royal  houses  and  royal  houses," 
Clementina  said,  impatiently.  "You  know  very 
well  that  we  are  not  great  enough  nor  rich  enough 
nor  powerful  enough  to  make  much  of  a  pother 
about." 

The  Cardinal  eyed  her  admiringly.  "You  argue 
ingeniously,"  he  said,  "but  let  me  remind  you  that 
your  family  were  great  enough  and  rich  enough  and 
powerful  enough  to  provide  a  bride  for  the  King 
of  England." 

"A  king  who  is  no  king,"  Clementina  said,  dog- 
gedly, as  one  that  is  determined  to  use  any  weapon 
in  defence. 

"My  child,"  said  the  Cardinal,  "it  does  not  be- 
come you  or  me  to  admit  as  much.  James  the  Third 
is  King  of  England  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  no 
factious  act  of  a  rebellious  people,  no  installation 
of  a  usurping  Elector  of  Hanover,  can  affect  his  di- 
vine right." 

Clementina  said  nothing,  having  indeed  nothing 
to  say,  and  the  Cardinal  continued:  "However,  let 
us  assume  the  hard  assumption  that  your  father 
would  be  willing  to  sit  still  and  say  nothing  while 
you  went  your  way  with  your  lover.  What  would 
your  lover's  future  life  be  like  after  you  had  pro- 
claimed him  to  all  the  world  as  a  traitor  to  his 
King  ?" 

359 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

"Charles  Wogan  is  no  traitor!"  the  Princess  in- 
terrupted, passionately.  Her  eyes  flashed,  her 
hands  were  clenched;  she  showed  a  high  passion. 

"I  believe  so,  too,  at  this  present,"  the  Cardinal 
replied,  calmly.  "  But  you  will  make  him  a  traitor 
if  you  suffer  him  to  become  your  lover.  Just  think 
of  it!  His  Majesty  believed  Charles  Wogan  to  be 
an  honorable  gentleman  and  trustworthy  and  faith- 
ful servant.  In  that  belief  he  employs  him  on  a 
delicate  and  dangerous  mission.  He  intrusts  him 
with  the  task  of  finding  him  a  bride.  He  confides 
to  him  the  care  of  that  lady's  life.  He  expects  him 
to  bring  that  lady  in  safety  to  his  presence.  Even 
if  the  tale  be  told  as  you  would  have  it  told,  it  will 
be  held  by  all  the  world  that  this  gentleman,  so 
deeply  trusted,  so  highly  honored,  betrayed  his 
master's  trust,  wronged  his  master's  honor,  and  stole 
his  master's  promised  wife." 

"He  cannot  help  loving  me,"  Clementina  mur- 
mured, sadly. 

"Of  course  not,"  the  Cardinal  admitted,  can- 
didly; "who  could  ?  But  he  could  and  should  keep 
his  love  to  himself." 

"It  was  I  who  told  him,"  Clementina  insisted, 
fiercely.  "If  there  be  fault  or  folly,  the  fault  and 
folly  are  mine." 

"I  admit,"  the  Cardinal  said,  "that  you  made 
his  duty  very  difficult  for  the  young  gentleman,  but 
he  should  not  have  found  it  impossible  to  deny 
himself." 

360 


THE    CARDINAL    CONVERSES 

"He  did  as  long  as  he  could,"  Clementina 
pleaded,  vehemently.  "He  only  spoke  because  I 
made  him  speak." 

"Well,"  said  the  Cardinal,  "let  us  consider  this 
man's  future  for  a  little.  He's  a  soldier.  His  busi- 
ness and  his  pleasure  in  life  is  the  soldier's  trade. 
Suppose  that  you  and  he  do  as  you  wish,  where 
shall  he  hereafter  find  service  ?  Not  in  France,  not 
in  Spain,  not  in  Austria.  In  all  these  countries  Irish 
gentlemen  are  very  welcome,  but  not  an  Irishman 
who  has  betrayed  and  dishonored  his  King.  I 
think  the  only  country  that  would  accept  his  ser- 
vices is  England,  for  the  present  English  Govern- 
ment would  welcome  any  man  that  had  done  a 
mischief  to  James  Stuart.  Would  it  please  you  to 
see  the  Chevalier  Wogan  wearing  the  uniform  of 
the  Elector  of  Hanover  ?" 

Clementina  gave  a  great  cry  at  the  Cardinal's 
words,  and  thrust  out  her  hands  before  her,  as  if 
to  push  away  a  sudden  and  unexpected  danger. 
"My  God!"  she  cried;  "that  is  impossible."  She 
sat  for  a  moment  silent,  facing  the  phantoms  that 
the  Cardinal  had  evoked,  thinking  wild  thoughts. 
Then  she  said,  slowly:  "After  all,  he  need  not  re- 
main a  soldier.  We  can  live  away  from  the  world, 
content  with  each  other.  I  have  money;  my  jewels 
would  fetch  a  large  sum." 

The  Cardinal  answered  her,  still  in  the  same  voice 
of  gentle  banter  that  he  had  preserved  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  interview.  "Would  you,"  he  asked, 

361 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

as  one  that  asks  a  half-amusing  question — "would 
you  have  Charles  Wogan  live  in  idleness  on  the 
bounty  of  the  wife  that  he  had  stolen  from  his 
master  ?" 

It  seemed  to  Clementina  for  the  moment  that 
she  was  prepared  to  accept  any  humiliation  for  her- 
self that  would  leave  her  free  for  the  man  she  loved, 
and  liberate  her  from  the  bondage  to  which  she  now 
felt  that  she  was  being  delivered.  But  the  thought 
of  humiliation  for  her  lover,  the  thought  that  the 
world  would  have  a  right  to  deride  and  to  despise 
him,  shook  her  spirit  and  stung  her  pride.  She 
turned  to  the  Cardinal  wistfully.  She  saw  his  smil- 
ing, bland  face  through  a  mist  of  tears.  "What  am 
I  to  do  ?"  she  asked,  pathetically. 

The  Cardinal  spread  out  his  fine  hands  as  if  he 
were  putting  aside  any  responsibility,  any  authority. 
"That  you  must  decide  for  yourself,"  he  said, 
affably.  "Your  good  head  must  come  to  the  help 
of  your  good  heart.  All  I  have  done,  all  that  I  felt 
it  necessary  for  me  to  do,  is  to  set  forth  some  of  the 
perils  and  vexations  that  must  beset  you  if  you  break 
away  from  the  path  that  has  been  laid  down  for  you. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  you  will  meet  me  with  the 
question,  what  are  perils  and  vexations  to  young 
love  ?  And  I  know  that  the  question  seems  hard 
to  answer  to  young  lovers.  But  young  love  will  not 
last  forever;  it  will  grow  cold  in  time — it  may  even 
turn  to  hate." 

"That  could  never  happen,"  Clementina  said, 
362 


THE   CARDINAL   CONVERSES 

doggedly.  "A  love  like  mine  is  a  love  that  lasts 
forever." 

The  Cardinal  laughed  gently.  "Ah,  my  daugh- 
ter!" he  said.  "You  are  very  young  and  very  in- 
experienced. I  have  seen  in  my  time  many  a  heady 
passion  that  blazed  like  a  furnace,  wane  and  wither 
and  die  down  into  cold  ashes.  I  have  seen  many 
a  hand  once  clasped  in  friendship  lifted  in  hate. 
When  the  first  joy  of  the  friendship  was  over,  do 
you  not  think  that  your  companion  would  begin  to 
feel  his  degradation  and  begin  to  resent  the  cause 
of  it  ?  No  man  that  has  been  a  soldier  can  bear  to 
be  regarded  as  an  outlaw  with  whom  no  honest  or 
honorable  man  will  consort.  Indeed,  my  child,  I 
do  not  see  great  certainty  of  happiness  for  you  in 
this  proposed  adventure,  and  I  see  very  surely  great 
certainty  of  unhappiness  for  the  man." 

The  Cardinal  leaned  back  against  the  arm  of  the 
marble  seat  and  smiled  kindlily  at  the  Princess. 
The  same  air  of  genial  sympathy  that  he  had  worn 
all  through  their  conversation  still  reigned  on  his 
good-natured  features.  Had  an  observer  been  by, 
that  observer  would  have  believed  that  the  Cardinal 
had  just  finished  his  share  in  the  pleasantest  talk  in 
the  world.  But  such  an  observer  would  have  judged 
differently  as  regards  the  Princess.  Her  eyes  were 
full  of  tears,  her  cheeks  were  very  pale,  her  hands 
were  tightly  clenched,  and  it  was  evident  that  only 
by  a  strong  effort  could  she  restrain  herself  from 
falling  into  a  passionate  fit  of  weeping.  She  said 

24  363 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

nothing,  and  the  smiling  Cardinal  said  nothing, 
and  the  silence  seemed  to  last  a  long  while,  though, 
indeed,  it  was  only  to  be  counted  by  seconds. 

Clementina  knew  now  in  her  heart  that  what  the 
Cardinal  said  was  true.  Her  native  shrewdness 
came  to  the  rescue  of  her  sentiment,  and  dissipated 
the  tinted  vapors  of  her  dream.  Like  one  that  peers 
into  a  magic  glass  and  reads  therein  the  future,  she 
saw  herself  and  her  lover  living  in  a  miserable  ob- 
scurity, drifting  from  one  country  to  another  in  un- 
lovely vagabondage,  hated  or  disdained  by  all  whose 
love  and  esteem  would  be  desirable,  friendless  save 
for  friends  that  would  be  worse  than  enemies.  She 
saw  the  man,  her  companion,  chafing  at  the  in- 
dignity to  which  their  madness  had  committed  him, 
fretting  for  the  life  of  action  that  he  was  forever 
denied,  growing  bitterer  with  the  growing  years  and 
the  keen  sense  of  his  humiliation,  ceasing  to  find 
consolation  in  love,  ceasing,  it  may  be,  to  love. 
What  must  a  soldier  feel  that  is  condemned  to  sit 
at  home  in  inglorious  ease  while  from  all  the 
quarters  of  the  globe  the  trumpets  of  war  are  calling? 

As  clearly  as  Clementina  had  seen  before  that  her 
duty  was  to  tell  the  King  her  secret  and  throw  her- 
self upon  his  mercy,  so  now  as  clearly  she  saw  that 
she  must  keep  her  cruel  secret  to  the  end,  and  pur- 
sue her  allotted  course  without  a  murmur  or  a  sign 
to  betray  her  breaking  heart.  She  turned  to  the 
Cardinal  with  dry  eyes  and  steady  lips. 

"Your  Eminence,"  she  said,  slowly  and  com- 
364 


THE    CARDINAL   CONVERSES 

posedly,  "is  a  wise  man.  Your  Eminence  knows 
the  world  and  its  ways.  I  am  no  better  than  a  child 
that  looks  from  its  nursery  window  upon  the  great 
procession  of  life  that  passes  by.  But  the  child  has 
learned  her  lesson,  and  you  need  not  fear  that  she 
will  forget." 

The  Cardinal  leaned  forward  and  gently  patted 
Clementina's  hands.  "You  will  do  your  duty,  my 
daughter,"  he  said,  softly. 

And  Clementina  answered,  "I  will  do  my  duty." 

The  Cardinal  leaned  back  with  the  very  faintest 
sigh  of  satisfaction,  and  Clementina  sat  looking 
before  her  and  wondering  how  she  could  bear 
what  must  befall  her. 

The  silence  was  broken  by  a  man's  approaching 
footsteps.  Wogan  appeared  at  the  head  of  the  terrace 
and,  descending  the  steps,  addressed  the  Cardinal. 
"Your  Eminence,"  he  said,  "his  Majesty  has  been 
sighted  on  the  road,andwill  be  here  in  a  few  minutes." 

The  Cardinal  rose.  "I  will  go  and  greet  his 
Majesty,"  he  said.  "I  .am  rejoiced  to  be  able  to 
welcome  so  great  and  good  a  prince  under  my  poor 
roof.  Attend  upon  her  Highness  till  I  return." 
He  bent  over  the  Princess  and  rested  his  hand  for 
a  moment  upon  her  head  as  if  in  benediction.  "  You 
are  to  be  envied,  child,"  he  said,  in  a  soft  voice,  and 
then  turning  he  moved  slowly  across  the  grass  and 
up  the  terrace  steps  and  disappeared,  a  shimmer- 
ing figure  in  crimson  silk  among  the  trees.  Wogan 
and  the  Princess  were  again  left  alone, 

365 


XXXIII 

IT   WAS    ALL   FOR   OUR   RIGHTFUL    KING 

WOGAN  knew  from  the  look  on  Clementina's 
face  before  she  spoke  a  word  that  the  world 
had  changed  for  him.  "Madam,"  he  began,  and 
then  paused,  uncertain  what  to  say,  swayed  by  the 
great  doubt  and  the  great  fear  which  had  so  sud- 
denly come  upon  him.  As  for  Clementina,  she 
sat  very  steady  and  still,  with  her  hands  straight  by 
her  sides,  and  her  gaze  fixed  with  a  wistful  earnest- 
ness upon  the  face  of  her  lover.  All  the  silence  of 
that  summer  day  seemed  suddenly  to  break  into  a 
multitude  of  noises  in  contrast  with  the  gripping 
stillness  that  seemed  to  reign  around  the  pair.  The 
trembling  of  the  leaves,  the  breath  of  the  breeze, 
the  swift  movement  of  birds  from  bough  to  bough, 
all  these  faint  and  hitherto  imperceptible  sounds 
seemed  now  to  reverberate  with  something  like 
terrific  import.  This  lasted  for  a  few  moments,  and 
then  Clementina  spoke.  At  the  sound  of  her  voice 
the  world  became  itself  again  for  her  and  for  him. 

"Friend,"  she  began,  and  then  repeated  the  word 
lovingly,  "friend,  I  must  bid  you  good-bye." 

Wogan  knew  that  if  he  could  see  himself  he  would 
366 


ALL   FOR   OUR    RIGHTFUL   KING 

find  that  he  was  deadly  pale  and  that  he  showed 
a  fear  he  had  never  shown  in  danger.  Certain  of 
what  was  to  come,  he  yet  dreaded  to  have  that  cer- 
tainty confirmed  by  words,  and  he  wished  the  pause 
that  Clementina  made  might  endure  forever. 

"We  have  been  dreaming  dreams,"  Clementina 
went  on,  "and  I  have  been  a  very  foolish  young 
woman,  and  fancied  myself  still  in  the  nursery, 
where  I  could  play  out  my  fairy  tales  to  the  happy 
ending  of  my  fancy.  But  I  can  do  no  such  thing, 
I  find,  and  there  is  nothing  left  for  it  but  to  say 
good-bye." 

"What  has  the  Cardinal  said?"  Wogan  asked, 
dully.  The  sound  of  his  voice  startled  him,  it 
seemed  so  unnatural  and  so  hard,  and  the  question 
seemed  foolish,  yet  in  the  desperation  of  his  despair 
he  could  think  of  nothing  else  to  say. 

"The  Cardinal  has  said  very  little,"  Clementina 
answered,  "only  he  has  made  me  aware  that  I  can- 
not in  honor  do  what  my  heart  would  have  me  do, 
and  that  I  must  fulfil  my  destiny  and  follow  my 
duty  with  what  faith  and  patience  I  may." 

Wogan  was  at  a  loss  what  to  say.  He  knew  that 
the  Princess  was  in  the  right,  and  that  he  would  do 
shamefully  ill  to  seek  to  dissuade  her.  Also  he  felt 
strangely  sure  that  she  had  made  up  her  mind  and 
was  not  to  be  dissuaded,  though  he  spoke  with  the 
tongue  of  men  and  of  angels.  "Is  your  Highness 
sure  ?"  he  asked,  with  the  grave  simplicity  which 
the  situation  seemed  to  need,  and  he  felt  the  sig- 

367 


THE    KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

nificance  of  the  change  that  had  come  over  them 
in  his  immediate  return  to  the  formal  address. 

Clementina  inclined  her  head  in  wistful  affirma- 
tion. "I  am  quite  sure,"  she  said.  "What  I  wish 
to  do  is  wholly  impossible.  You,  who  are  a  soldier, 
would  never  do  what  you  believe  to  be  a  dishonor- 
able deed.  Well,  you  would  not  have  me  stoop  to 
dishonor,  neither.  It  is  my  duty  to  keep  faith  with 
the  King,  and  if  my  heart  breaks  in  the  doing,  that 
is  no  more  than  by  the  way.  Am  I  not  right, 
friend  ?" 

Wogan  could  not  speak.  Wogan  dared  not  trust 
himself  to  speak.  He  felt  that  if  he  allowed  his 
tongue  liberty  he  must  needs  make  wild  protesta- 
tions, wild  entreaties,  do  all  that  he  should  not  do. 
So  he  only  listened  in  silence,  with  lowered  head. 

The  Princess  understood  his  silence.  "I  shall 
always  remember,"  Clementina  went  on,  "the  days 
and  hours  and  minutes  and  seconds  of  our  wonder- 
ful adventure.  I  shall  always  think  of  you  as  the 
noblest  gentleman  I  have  ever  known.  I  hope  you 
will  always  think  kindly  of  me.  Good-bye." 

Wogan  took  Clementina's  hand  and  kissed  it. 
The  wildest  thoughts  seemed  to  be  whirling  in  his 
brain.  He  felt  as  a  man  feels  that  dreams  a  hide- 
ous dream  and  knows  it,  even  while  he  is  in  the 
throes  of  it,  to  be  a  dream  and  no  reality,  and  strives 
in  great  agony  to  break  away  from  its  oppression, 
and  cannot,  for  a  while  at  least,  succeed,  and  at 
last  wakes  with  a  cry  and  a  sweat  of  terror  upon 

368 


ALL    FOR    OUR   RIGHTFUL   KING 

him.  Surely,  Wogan's  troubled  fancy  seemed  to 
suggest — surely  this  sorrow  is  nothing  but  a  dream, 
and  I  shall  wake  again  to  joy  and  hope  and  promise. 
Then  as  he  lifted  his  eyes  to  the  face  of  the  Princess 
and  saw  the  tragic  calmness  that  reigned  there,  he 
knew  that  the  thing  was  real,  that  the  hour  of  re- 
nunciation and  parting  had  struck,  and  that  the 
best  of  life  was  ended.  He  drew  himself  up  and 
saluted  Clementina.  "Farewell,  Princess,"  he  said, 
quietly;  "farewell,  sweet  lady." 

Each  stood  looking  at  the  other  in  silence  for  a 
few  seconds,  then  the  stillness  was  broken  by  the 
sound  of  approaching  footsteps,  and  the  Cardinal 
appeared  on  the  terrace  in  the  company  of  a  stately 
gentleman  in  black. 

Without  another  word  to  Wogan,  without  an- 
other look  at  Wogan,  the  Princess  quitted  the 
pavilion  and  advanced  to  meet  her  husband. 
Wogan,  after  a  moment's  pause,  followed  her  at  a 
little  distance.  Suddenly  Clementina  came  to  a 
halt,  as  if  she  could  go  no  farther,  and  Wogan 
halted,  too,  and  waited  for  what  must  be. 

The  girl  stood  very  still,  with  beating  heart,  as 
the  men  advanced  slowly  toward  her  down  the  sun- 
lit avenue.  The  brightness  of  the  day,  the  beauty 
of  the  surroundings,  the  vivid  crimson  of  the  Car- 
dinal's coat,  seemed  to  intensify  the  gravity  of  the 
Prince's  carnage  and  the  sombreness  of  his  attire. 
He  was  clad  for  the  most  part  in  black  raiment, 
only  relieved  by  his  blue  ribbon  and  by  the  brilliancy 

369 


THE    KING    OVER   THE    WATER 

of  his  George.  As  he  moved  slowly  toward  the 
Princess  her  agitation  seemed  to  increase  at  that  air 
of  sadness  which  habitually  sat  upon  the  noble 
features  of  the  Prince,  a  sadness  which  even  the  im- 
portance of  the  occasion  seemed  scarcely  to  dis- 
sipate. The  girl's  blood  seemed  to  grow  colder  as 
that  grave,  sable  figure  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  and 
the  tumult  of  many  troubled  and  conflicting  thoughts 
disturbed  her  brain. 

James  was  quite  near  to  his  bride  before  he 
altered  the  steady  sobriety  of  his  deportment  or 
allowed  his  face  to  soften  from  its  habitual  pensive 
expression.  But  when  he  was  close  to  Clementina 
he  stepped  briskly  from  the  Cardinal's  side  to  greet 
her,  and  as  he  did  so  his  features  softened  into  the 
sweet  smile  which  they  so  seldom  wore,  but  which, 
when  he  showed  it,  seemed  to  transform  his  counte- 
nance and  lend  it  an  appealing  beauty.  As  he 
smiled  his  welcome  James  caught  the  hand  of 
Clementina  and  kissed  it,  kneeling  on  one  knee  as 
he  did  so. 

Immediately  the  Princess  strove  to  raise  him. 
"Sire,"  she  said,  "it  is  not  fit  that  the  King  of  Eng- 
land should  kneel  to  me." 

James  rose  slowly  and  still  smiled,  scrutinizing 
her  face  the  while  with  kindly,  admiring  eyes. 
"Dear  lady,"  he  answered,  "it  is  not  the  King  of 
England  who  kneels,  but  the  fortunate  and  grateful 
lover.  How  can  I  ever  thank  you  for  all  the  perils 
you  have  encountered  and  the  pains  you  have 


ALL    FOR   OUR    RIGHTFUL    KING 

endured  in  order  to  make  me  the  happiest  of 
men  ?" 

"Sire,  sire,"  Clementina  stammered,  scarcely 
knowing  what  to  say. 

But  James  continued,  unheeding  her  interrup- 
tion, with  the  gracious  gravity  of  one  that  has  well 
weighed  his  words  and  knows  them  to  be  apt  and 
seasonable.  "I  can  well  understand,"  he  said, 
"how  eager  my  enemies  have  been  to  keep  us  apart. 
In  keeping  me  from  my  kingdom  of  England  they 
might  well  believe  they  had  done  their  worst  for 
me,  but  when  they  found  that  Heaven  was  pre- 
pared to  grant  me  a  recompense  for  all  my  griefs 
and  all  my  losses  in  endowing  me  with  the  com- 
panionship of  so  incomparable  a  Princess,  their 
fury  and  their  malice  may  well  have  prompted  them 
to  deprive  me  of  the  gift  that  would  atone  for 
all." 

It  was  strange  to  the  girl  standing  there  with 
aching  heart  to  listen  to  the  precise,  formal,  and 
measured  words  of  the  Prince,  which  nevertheless, 
for  all  their  precision  and  all  their  formality,  rang 
strangely  earnest  and  true.  Indeed,  the  exiled 
King  spoke  from  the  heart  of  his  heart  to  the 
woman  who  had  come  so  far  to  marry  him,  and 
Clementina,  recognizing  this,  strove  resolutely  to 
forget  the  insistent  regret  that  fretted  her.  She 
stared  at  him  steadily,  sharply  conscious  of  the 
sadness  that  seemed  to  encompass  him,  of  his  dark 
habit,  of  his  face  so  careworn,  so  poignantly  pa- 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

thetic  now  with  the  contrasting  smile  which  reigned 
upon  it.  She  felt  helplessly  vexed  with  the  warm 
sunlight  all  about  that  seemed  to  suggest  joy  that 

O  oo  j     J 

could  never  be  for  her.  The  Cardinal  was  plainly 
in  the  right;  it  was  not  possible,  not  honorable,  for 
her  to  add  another  sorrow  to  the  many  sorrows  of 
this  unhappy  Prince.  If  she  could  lighten  his  life, 
ease  his  labors,  lessen  his  cares,  she  would  at  least 
be  doing  a  worthy  work  in  the  world,  she  would  be 
taking  up  a  task  that  was  fitted  for  a  daughter  of 
her  ancient  house.  She  smiled  wistfully  at  James, 
and  began  to  stammer  out  one  of  the  little  English 
phrases  which  she  had  learned  on  her  journey  for 
the  purpose  of  addressing  her  husband  in  his  own 
tongue.  "Sire,"  she  said,  "I  will  do  my  best  to 
make  you  a  dutiful  wife."  Then,  as  she  finished 
the  few  words  which  came  so  quaintly  from  her  lips, 
memory  and  emotion  were  too  much  for  her,  and 
she  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears. 

James  stood  embarrassed,  uncertain  what  to  do, 
puzzled  by  her  mood.  As  he  hesitated  the  Cardinal 
glided  swiftly  forward  and  took  the  trembling,  sob- 
bing girl  in  his  arms.  "Her  joy  is  too  much  for  her 
Highness,"  he  said,  confidently.  "Yonder  is  the 
Chevalier  Wogan,  Sire,  that  brought  you  this  fair 
bride.  Favor  him  with  a  few  words  while  her  High- 
ness is  recovering  herself." 

The  King  seemed  relieved  by  the  suggestion  of 
the  Cardinal.  There  was  a  certain  unexpected  qual- 
ity of  shyness  in  him  that  made  him  awkward  in 

372 


ALL    FOR   OUR    RIGHTFUL   KING 

the  presence  of  a  weeping  girl.  He  made  a  sign  to 
Wogan,  who  hastened  to  approach. 

King  James  addressed  Wogan  very  friendly. 
"Sir,"  he  said,  "it  is  not  much  that  one  of  my 
fortunes  can  do  to  reward  those  who  risk  their 
lives  in  his  service.  We  waste  our  days  in  exile, 
far  from  our  rightful  dominions,  and  we  have  not 
the  power  to  confer  on  those  who  love  us,  and  whom 
we  love,  such  gifts  as  would  become  their  services 
and  our  royal  bounty.  But,  at  least,  it  still  remains 
to  us  as  the  fountain  of  honor  to  accord  to  our  loving 
and  loyal  subjects  some  proof  of  our  sovereign 
pleasure." 

He  bade  Wogan  kneel;  then  James  drew  his  sword 
and  laid  it  lightly  on  his  shoulder.  "Arise,  Sir 
Charles  Wogan,"  he  said.  When  Wogan  had  risen 
the  King  continued.  "Whatever  his  misfortunes, 
the  King  must  be  counted  happy  to  command  such 
a  servant." 

Wogan  murmured  some  inarticulate  thanks, 
hardly  knowing  what  he  said  or  wished  tp  say. 
James  did  not  notice  or  did  not  heed  the  hesitation 
of  his  follower,  for  his  attention  was  now  called  away 
by  the  Cardinal. 

"Sire,"  he  said,  "see  how  her  Highness  now 
shines  upon  you,  all  sunshine  after  gentle  rain." 

Indeed,  Clementina  had  recovered  quickly  from 
her  unconquerable  fit  of  weeping,  and  she  now 
showed  her  consort  a  smiling  face.  James  was 
visibly  pleased  that  a  wholly  unblamable  paroxysm 

373 


THE   KING   OVER   THE    WATER 

of  natural  emotion  had  worked  itself  out.  He  ad- 
vanced toward  his  bride  where  she  stood  alone,  no 
longer  needing  the  support  of  the  Cardinal's  arms. 

"Dear  lady,"  he  said,  "I  fear  that  the  sun  is 
something  too  sultry  out  here  for  one  that  has  suf- 
fered so  much  for  my  sake.  Pray  you,  permit  me 
to  conduct  you  to  the  palace." 

He  took  her  hand  as  he  spoke,  kissed  it  very 
courteously,  and  then,  still  holding  it  with  a  stately 
tenderness,  he  led  her,  unresisting,  toward  the 
Cardinal's  palace,  discoursing  on  the  way  wisely 
and  soberly  as  to  the  good  he  and  she  would  do  to- 
gether for  their  distracted  people  of  England  when 
the  Restoration  that  was  now  inevitable  should  be 
an  accomplished  fact.  Clementina  answered  his 
Majesty  with  monosyllables  of  agreement,  and  thus 
pleasantly  conversing  the  royal  pair  passed  out  of 
sight. 

The  Cardinal  turned  to  Wogan.  "Sir  Charles," 
he  said,  "  I  have  formed  a  great  regard  for  you,  and 
it  conaerns  me  to  believe  that  our  Italian  air  is  far 
from  wholesome  for  you.  If  I  may  be  permitted 
the  privilege  of  voicing  the  friendship  I  feel  for 
you,  I  should  earnestly  advise  you  to  try  the  experi- 
ment of  travelling  in  other  lands  for  a  considerable 
time." 

Wogan  looked  steadily  at  the  Cardinal  and  an- 
swered him  with  a  straightforward  simplicity.  "I 
am  wholly  of  one  mind  with  your  Eminence." 


XXXIV 

THE   FATE   OF  THE   FOUR 

FATE  that  had  united  four  Irish  gentlemen  in 
such  a  famous  adventure  never  brought  them 
together  again  in  any  like  enterprise.  Gaydon  and 
O'Toole  remained  in  the  service  of  France,  and  in 
that  service  Gaydon  passed  away  in  peaceful  old  age, 
a  lieutenant-colonel  of  Dillon's  in  the  year  of  the 
Forty-Five,  the  year  when  the  young  Prince  of  Wales 
that  was  afterward  Charles  the  Third  made  his  he- 
roic attempt,  that  for  a  breathing-time  promised  suc- 
cess, to  regain  his  alienated  kingdom.  O'Toole,  the 
great-hearted  and  great-limbed,  knew  many  years 
of  not  untempestuous  happiness  with  his  Jane,  and 
died  in  action,  a  captain  of  Grenadiers,  in  the  last 
battle  fought  between  the  troops  of  France  and  the 
troops  of  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Sixth,  on  the 
Moselle,  in  1737. 

Wogan  decided  to  seek  service  in  Spain,  and  this 
decision  was  shared  by  Misset,  who  accompanied  Sir 
Charles  to  that  country,  where  Irish  soldiers  of  for- 
tune were  made  no  less  welcome  than  in  France,  in 
1719.  They  were  received  with  great  kindness  by 
Philip  the  Fifth,  who  gave  them  high  rank  in  his 

375 


THE   KING   OVER   THE   WATER 

army.  Misset  died  Governor  of  Oran  in  Barbary  in 
1733,  and  his  widow  retired  to  Barcelona,  where  a 
few  years  later  she  was  joined  by  the  widow  of 
O'Toole,  and  there  the  two  women  ended  their  days. 
The  end  of  Charles  Wogan  was  appropriate  to 
his  wandering,  eventful,  chivalrous  life.  He  ren- 
dered Spain  good  service  against  the  infidels  of 
Barbary,  and  was  rewarded  for  that  service  after 
1733  by  being  appointed  Governor  of  the  Province 
of  La  Mancha,  in  Spain,  famous  as  the  scene  of  the 
adventures  of  the  illustrious  Don  Quixote,  with 
whose  nobility  and  devotion  Charles  Wogan  had  so 
much  in  common.  It  was  about  this  time  that  Sir 
Charles  made  bold  to  enter  into  correspondence 
with  the  renowned  Dean  Swift,  and  even  those  that 
are  most  familiar  with  the  following  letter  in  the 
pages  of  O'Halloran's  History  of  Dillon  s  will,  per- 
haps, be  ready  to  pardon  its  repetition  here.  It  is 
undated,  but  it  must  have  been  written  soon  after 
the  appointment  to  the  governorship  of  La  Mancha. 
It  runs  thus: 

"DEAR  MR.  DEAN  —  Will  you  pardon  a  poor 
Irish  soldier  of  fortune  if  he,  being  a  total  stranger 
to  you,  still  ventures  to  address  you  and  to  offer  you 
his  heartfelt  thanks  for  the  services  you  have  been 
pleased  to  render  to  his  country.  It  is  many  years 
now  since  I  saw  the  land  of  my  birth;  it  is  as  cer- 
tain as  anything  may  be  esteemed  certain  in  this 
whimsical  world  that  I  shall  never  again  see  Irish 

376 


THE    FATE   OF   THE    FOUR 

land.  There  are  many  in  like  case  with  me,  gentle- 
men of  honesty  and  honor,  that  must  needs  leave 
their  bones  abroad  in  foreign  earth,  and  that  must 
wish  with  my  Lord  Lucan,  as  they  spend  their  last 
breath,  that  it  were  given  for  Ireland.  I  am  not  so 
much  a  rough  soldier  that  I  have  not  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  Dean  of  St.  Patrick's,  and  of  all  that  he 
has  done  for  a  country  that  has  been  so  cruelly 
abused.  You,  sir,  are,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say 
it,  a  great  man.  Your  own  knowledge  of  that  fact 
needs  no  assurance  from  an  exile  to  support  it,  but 
your  greatness  will  no  more  disdain  my  gratitude 
than  the  sun  disdains  the  tribute  of  the  flower  that 
expands  under  his  beams. 

''There  is  little  likelihood  that  my  name  ever 
will  have  reached  your  ears.  If  by  any  chance  it 
has  done  so,  it  will  be  on  account  of  a  service  which 
three  other  gentlemen  of  my  race,  with  myself,  were 
able  to  render  to  his  Majesty  King  James,  a  service 
which  is  known  to  the  curious  as  the  Affair  of  Inns- 
pruck.  It  took  place  a  good  time  ago,  but  I  can 
assure  your  reverence  that  I  seem  to  grow  young 
again  as  I  think  of  it.  After  a  long  experience  of 
arms  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  and  latest  in  Bar- 
bary,  I  am  now  settled  in  a  government  in  Spain, 
my  little  kingdom  being  that  very  province  of  La 
Mancha  which  has  been  rendered  so  familiar  to  the 
world  by  the  ingenuity  of  the  esteemed  Cervantes. 
If  I  die  here,  perhaps,  at  least,  it  may  be  said  of  me 
that  I  died  at  my  post. 

377 


THE   KING   OVER    THE   WATER 

"  I  am  taking  the  liberty  of  sending  you  a  small 
parcel  of  the  wine  of  my  province,  which  is  esteemed 
excellent  drinking  by  those  that  are  familiar  with  it. 
I  also,  more  daring  than  the  angels,  presume  to 
send  a  few  compositions  of  my  own,  both  in  prose 
and  verse,  which,  if  they  do  but  serve  to  divert  a 
moment  of  your  leisure,  will  have  served  their  turn. 
They  are  only  to  be  viewed  as  trifles,  the  rare  idle- 
nesses of  a  life  that  has  always  been  busy  and  that 
has  tasted  great  happiness. 

"I  am,  dear  Mr.  Dean,  with  the  profoundest 
respect  and  gratitude 

"Your   obedient   servant, 
"CHARLES  WOGAN  (Knight-Baronet)." 

Wogan  did  die  in  his  government  of  La  Mancha, 
and  he  did  die  at  his  post.  The  splendid  adventurer 
could  have  found  no  fitter  place  to  end  his  journey 
than  the  country  which  is  haunted  by  the  memory 
of  the  greatest  of  all  knights-errant.  Of  Wogan, 
as  of  Cervantes'  hero,  it  may  be  said  that  he  was 
fearless,  chivalrous,  and  loyal  to  his  dreams.  Of 
Wogan,  as  of  Malory's  Sir  Lancelot,  it  may  be  said 
that  he  was  the  truest  lover,  of  a  sinful  man,  that 
ever  loved  woman. 


THE    END 


J. 


A    000  1 1 1  260    6 


